Legend Of Korra: Not in Time
by Crush48
Summary: Korra ends up in the same plane of time as 12 year old Aang. Korra attempts to find a way to return home, but can she do that without revealing herself as the Avatar? And possibly adding to the already existing confusion?
1. Chapter 1

Korra remembered only that she attempted to meditate inside that darned metal box after Tarlokk showed his true colors by attacking and kidnapping her a la bloodbending. Funny how something like this would happen when she tries to connect with her spiritual side. Even though the rocks situated under her head was a bit uncomfortable, she couldn't find the need to care at the moment. The air was cool and from what she could feel, the stone floor under her was cold as well, indicating that the area was cool also.

_I should open my eyes right now, but I feel too tired, _Korra thought tiredly.

"Surely you mean a skunk-bear?"

"Or a gopher-bear?" Korra could hear conversation directly next to her, but the sounds were slightly muffled. Forcing her sleep-ridden mind to focus, she sat up and spotted a window next to her. Looking through it carefully, she could see the interior of a house which held a bald monk, who looked to be maybe 12 or 13, a boy and a girl who appeared to be wearing traditional water tribe clothing, and a girl with traditional earth kingdom clothing.

"Okay, I feel like this place is stuck in the past or something," Korra whispered to herself. Slowly backing away from the window and back outside, she could recognize now the sloped roofs of the houses and the stone ground. The whole neighborhood looked like one of those historical landscape exhibits within Republic City. Only problem was that she couldn't find any signs or posts stating the place _was _an exhibit. Well she might as well ask them. With sneaking through the window clearly out of the question, she quickly got up to circle the house.

"We don't care about the rules and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own and you should just stay out of our way!" came a very heated shout from the inside of the door. On cue, a lady with a robe was forced out of the door, who seemed to be walking away quickly and depressed.

"Nice neighborhood this is," Korra described sarcastically. Almost unconsciously, Korra brushed off imaginary dust from her shirt and the coat that was wrapped around her waist. Examining the large house momentarily, she confidently knocked on the door.

"I told you we're not interested-oh," Aang started. "Sorry, I thought you were Joo-Dee," Aang apoligized.

"No problem," Korra said assuredly. "I'm just wondering what this place was called?" Aang's face held a raised eyebrow. Korra realized how dumb her statement sounded.

"I'm uh, a tourist and I forgot to ask for the name of the city?" The bald monk looked to be eyeing her suspiciously before apparently buying her story.

"Come on in," Aang invited with a small underhand wave of his arm. "This is Ba Sing Se."

If Korra was drinking anything, she would have immediately spit it out in surprise.

_Hey Viewers, this is a story i'm just fooling around with. Let me know what you think. If you have something heavy to say about it, please go ahead and knock yourself out. Just keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a serious story line. Just a "What if Korra time traveled?"_


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thanks for viewing and Faving my Story, readers. For an extra Favor, please review! It's greatly appreciated! I also welcome flames if you didn't know. Just remember, this story is kind of a crack fic anyway from just the simple fact that its time-traveling. Also, I give credit of image cover to K4II0 of deviantArt.

"Wait, wait. Did you say Ba Sing Se?" Korra asked in turn. She massaged her forehead, hoping to dispel the imaginary headache coming on. Ba Sing Se would be the literal capital of the Earth Kingdom. What in the world would she be doing outside of Republic City? And in the Earth Kingdom capital no less?

"Well that explains the traditional clothing..." Korra muttered under her breath. "What was that?" Aang asked innocently, leading her into the main living room.

"Oh nothing, just wondering what your name was?" Korra lied quickly.

"Oh my name's Aang. What about you?" Once the name Aang was said, Korra coughed lightly.

"Aang?" Korra asked incredulously, dropping to a sitting position on the floor. _It all makes sense now! Toph looks just like the statue! Well she looks younger here. And that has to be Sokka! Similar to the vision I had of them! __That means that I'm sitting across from Aang, my previous life!  
_

"Uh, do you know me?" Aang asked after a short pause, interpreting Korra's silence as some sort of recognition.

"Yeah!" Korra said delibrately while trying to remember some of the stories Katara used to tell her about their adventures. "Well, I know of you and your friends."

"Hey guys, we have a guest!" "So where are you from? You have some clothes I've never seen before."

"I'm from the S-Northern Water Tribe," Korra explained. She remembered that at...whatever time this was, The northern water tribe had better defenses, so their development was a little better. However, she knew that explanation wouldn't hold for too long.

"Oh. Hello, I'm Katara. And over there is my brother Sokka."

"How's it goin?" Sokka asked idly. He wasn't paying full attention with his focus on a scroll that he was writing or drawing on.

"Hey, Katara", Korra said, bowing lightly. So this was what Katara looked like when she was young. She could recognize her pretty well. Korra had to admit, Katara aged well enough, she thought with an inner laugh.

"Hey! No one is going to introduce me?"

"Oh sorry! That's Toph over there."

"And the greatest earthbender in the world," said earthbender said matter of factly.

"It was nice to meet you, but you kind of caught us at a bad time. I lost my flying bison, Appa." Aang explained, his earlier enthusiasm a little dampened.

"I'll help you," Korra replied. Maybe this was older Aang's way of communicating with him. By going on his adventures or whatever. She hoped Mako and the rest of them were okay, but she would try to enjoy this while it lasted. When did the Avatar often meet their past self in the physical world?

"I'm a waterbender, I can help," Korra said, intentionally not mentioning her Avatar status. She didn't know what would happen if she told them, and frankly, it would sound unbelievable.

Korra had noticed that Katara's eyes had lit up. "You're a waterbender too? This is great! Are you from the southern water tribe?"

"Uh, no. I'm from the North Pole."

"Oh. Did they teach you how to fight there? They wouldn't let any of the women fight as warriors."

"I'm self-taught. And I met a few traveling masters, though I don't know where they would be now," Korra explained, indirectly referring to the Order of the White Lotus Bending masters that had taught her. And Katara herself.

"That's great! You have to teach me some of your techniques one day!" Korra replied "Sure," before being more formally introduced to the rest of the group.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: After the couple of requests for longer chapters, it is now law. By the way, thanks for the reviews, readers, I implore you to keep them coming._

"So what's your name?" Sokka asked suddenly. Apparently, he was finished with his scroll work as he placed it on the nearby center table to talk about later.

"My name's Korra. I hail from the northern water tribe," she reiterated. Sokka seemed to study her momentarily with a skeptical eyebrow.

"You seem _very _tough for a northern water tribe girl," Sokka said mysteriously, with an inflection that she couldn't place.

"Thanks," she responded nervously. Hopefully her cover wasn't blown.

"I mean seriously, what did you do to get those biceps?" Sokka questioned, standing to more closely examine Korra's nearest arm. With a flush of minor embarrassment, Korra hid her arm behind her back.

"I do a _lot _of push-ups," Korra replied truthfully. Toph remarked offhandedly that her and Korra would get along fine before Korra attempted to put the whole conversation back on track. She unconsciously smoothed out the wrinkles on the visible half of her parka. "So what are you guys doing here in the Impenetrable City? Besides finding your Flying Bison, I mean?"

"Should we tell her?" Aang asked Sokka. Sokka stroked his non-existent beard, thinking the situation over. The room was quiet, which added to the part serious and silly pose that he was performing.

"She _is _Water Tribe. What the heck?" Sokka approved.

"We're trying to get support from the Earth King to end the one hundred years war," Aang began.

"Secret battle plans that can get his support, but so far we're getting nowhere fast..." intoned the water tribe male with a huff.

"I gotta admit...I didn't think Twinkletoes had it in him to explode on that spaced out lady like that," the earthbender commented from the cushion she sat on. Korra noted that she hadn't moved an inch sense she entered the building. She guessed that with the whole sensing the ground thing, she didn't have a need to. To get a better reference of time, she asked her first important question of the day.

"Who are you all fighting?" Korra asked slowly. When she took history classes in her avatar training under the Order of the White Lotus, suffice it to say, she paid little to no attention. Of course she knew of a hundred years war, but she couldn't remember who was the enemy.

"The Fire Lord," Aang said coolly. There was something about his tone that she couldn't place. Thinking back to earlier lessons -with great difficulty-, she recalled the stories of Fire Lord Zuko. This had to have been about 70 years ago, so Zuko couldn't be the Fire Lord at the time. Perhaps it was his father?

"If you're trying to get to the Earth King, why don't you just give him a visit?"

"Believe me, we tried..." Sokka responded morosely. He tossed his boomerang once in the air for what was probably dramatic effect. "The Joo Dee lady, the Dai Li. It's all starting to get real annoying," Sokka complained.

"Okay, I have a plan." Korra wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. For all she knew, she could still be meditating in that steel box.

"Is there like a social going on or anything?"

"Yeah," Toph answered form her same spot from earlier. "They're having a banquet in honor of the Earth King. They do it every 3 months I think," she explained loud enough for the gang to hear.

"Well, why don't you just tell him at the banquet? I'm sure there will be no problem there? Aren't you guys like guests or something?"

"I don't have a problem with that. Seems like a sound plan...Guys?" Sokka asked the rest of the gang. Everyone, albeit Toph, nodded their heads in consent.

"So how are we going to go about this? We can't have the Dai Li spotting Aang with his arrows and all," Sokka began, pointing at Aang's airbending tattoos. Aang nodded for lack of a better response.

"Hold on a second. You two wouldn't make good candidates for infiltrating the party. You guys have no high class training, and honestly, I doubt you guys would make it as busboys," Toph evaluated, while at the same time picking her nose. "Let us girls handle this," she decided. Aang and Sokka both shrugged. Toph had dragged Korra and Katara off with her to the dressing room.

_A/N: Hey readers, Just to let you know, I might skip over very small details of an episode. Also her presence changes the timestream and what not, so events may not happen exactly as they did in the series. And remember, Read and Review! _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: You guys are right. Something is going to happen.  
_

After Toph instructed them on the importance of fashion for the party, Korra excused herself for a second. Waiting patiently a few seconds, sensing the ground, Toph poked Katara's shoulder.

"Hey Katara, there's someething weird about that girl," Toph said, but low enough so that only Katara could hear.

"What do you mean? It's just a girl from the northern water tribe. Isn't that great?" Katara replied, fixing up her hair in the mirror.  
If she knew how, Toph would roll her eyes.

"I think that's the problem," Toph started. She sat down on one of the chairs while Katara continued to fiddle with her hair. "Her heartbeat got erratic when she said where she was from the Northern Water Tribe, and it also got weird when she said she was a waterbender."

"Wait. Are you saying she's not a waterbender?" the water tribe girl asked. She was done with her hair and sat on an adjacent chair.

"Well, not exactly." Toph tapped her chin to think of a way to explain it. "You know how a heartbeat speeds up when someone could be lying, right?"

"Yeah," Katara said, not really understanding where she was getting at.

"Well, when she said she was a waterbender, her heartbeat slowed down, like very fast," Toph explained, "Like she wasn't telling the whole truth."

Katara sighed in exasperation. "I guess you're right. But there could be a million reasons," she argued. "You have to admit, we _are _a group of kids trying to oust the fire lord. I probably wouldn't tell us every little detail of myself if we first met. Just ask Sokka."

"But why would she lie about where she was from?"

"I don't know," Katara uttered, dissapointed that she couldn't think of a response to the question. Just then, Korra poked her head in, asking if they were ready.

"The guys are just about ready for their part," Korra clarified for them.

"Okay, we're ready," Katara replied, both her and Toph in their formal dresses.

"Look, once we get in there, i'm changing back," Korra said as she looked down at her dress, hands on her hips.

"Why is that?" Katara asked out of mild curiosity.

"Not much of a dress person."

Sokka laughed while putting his weapon away in a duffel bag, completing the bus boy disguise that he and Aang were using.

"Once we get inside, we have to find a way to get the Earth King's attention. See you guys there," Sokka briefed them, Aang following him through a crowded road on the way to get to the banquet.

As the three girls walked down the adjacent road toward the banquet, Katara nudged Toph lightly to get her attention.

"How come you didn't call her out at the house?" Katara whispered low enough that Korra couldn't hear.

"It'd be no point saying anything then. We already have enough to think about with this mission," Toph replied matter of fact.

"Oh." Katara hadn't even thought about it that far ahead. Still though, she didn't think ill of Korra. There was probably a valid reason for the misinformation. They had used disguises all the time, with Katara recalling the whole fiasco at Omashu.

"Hey, Korra, how long have you been waterbending?" Katara asked in attempt to strike up conversation.

"Since I was a 3 year old, actually. One of my favorite elements-, I mean, _the _best element," Korra amended, hoping that she amended her slip-up in time. No response came to show suspicion, so she figured no one noticed. However she hadn't noticed Toph's brooding expression (or similar countenance thereof).

Later at the Banquet, Aang tried to garner the Earth King's attention with his airbending antics, while Sokka attempted to get close to the stage. Korra, who had been watching the stage noticed four men with slightly pointed hats and donning mysterious robes advancing towards the hapless Water tribe boy. She had noticed just half-seconds ahead of Toph, who noticed the irregularity with her seismic sense.

"Katara, are those the Dai Li," Korra asked quickly. She still found it amazing to talk to her waterbending master like they were social equals. Katara was technically at least 67 years her senior.

"Yeah, that's them," Katara stated. She finally noticed them advancing towards Sokka, and gestured for Korra to follow her.

Sokka was one step from the stage when he heard a barely audible cry from behind him. His nerves were further surprised when a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Shh, it's me," Korra whispered semi-loudly and choke holding an unconscious Dai-Li agent near the wall where the party-goers couldn't see the bizzare display.

"Tell me how I've never met you before?" Sokka asked part sarcastically and part rhetorically. Korra simply shrugged before an idea came to her.

"It's time for us to be Dai-Li agents," Korra whispered conspiratorially.

0o0o

Aang completed his act by performing a backflip off of his air scooter. Sliding up to the Earth King, he placed the marbles back into his pockets.

"Your majesty," Aang said with a bow. "Me and my friends have a message of great importance to the Earth Kingdom. Can we please speak to you privately?"

Unbeknownst to Earth King Kuei, Aang, and Long Feng, two unusual looking Dai Li agents slid into an adjacent door.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: You guys are right. Something is going to happen. I know this chapter is extra short but I had to give you guys Something...Also, I am now accepting suggestions on who you would like to see show up later. It can be Amon, Bolin, Mako, General Iroh II, etc. Just let me know in y our review. The next chapter will be longer and come in quicker, I promise.  
_

"I must admit. Knocking out two Dai Li agents in a row like that has to be most impressive," Sokka appraised. He peeked around the corner of the hallway they had recently sneaked into. Tucking his club into his robe, he swiveled his head quickly to survey the area. Down the hall was a large ornate door. _That _has _to be the Earth King's throne room_, Sokka calculated.

"Korra, come on," The male beckoned with a backwards wave of his hand.

"Go and get Aang and he'll get everyone else. Once the King retires to his Throne room, we can pitch our plan there," Sokka explained quickly. With an understanding nod, Korra backtracked to the banquet hall they had just vacated.

Katara and Toph were at the side of the door that Korra was to enter through in a few seconds. Just as predicted, she came through just in time to relay Sokka's plan.

"Okay. Aang's ready. He's just told the Earth King of his audience request.

Before Korra could once again backtrack to the Earth King's throne entrance, Toph had grabbed her arm.

"You seem like an okay girl, but you're hiding something," Toph said objectively. "And why were you so willing to help us? You barely know us," Toph added to display her suspicion.

"I'll explain later. Don't worry, I'm here to help," Korra assured. "Besides," Korra took a deep breath. When-If I tell you. You guys aren't going to believe me," she said and Toph let go of her arm.

There was just the shortest of pauses before Toph relented. "Fine, I trust you for now. You don't seem to be out to get anyone. Just don't do something you'll end up regretting."

"I almost regret trying to meditate this morning," Korra muttered under her breath, almost cursing this random spirit, time traveling phenomena.

Long Feng stroked his mustache, the very image of a tactician. There was no way in the four elements would he allow the order that he had striven to establish be uprooted by some rowdy children. With a seemingly unassuming hand gesture, six robed men followed discreetly behind him as he strode forward to confront these anarchists.

"This is the throne room! Once inside, we can tell him our plan and get out of here! We'll have some great support for the invasion," Sokka declared melodramatically. Keeping his dramatism in momentum, he got into a ready stance and charged at the door.

"Flying Kick-A-POW!" Sokka shouted, his outstretched leg flying toward the door. His practiced move was ineffective as his foot simply landed and he fell down.

"Okay. Anyone know how to get through this thing," Katara asked to no one in particular. She would bust open the door herself, but right now wasn't really the best moment to expose her ability to bend the other elements.  
Aang filled in the request by leaping forward and in one fluid motion swinging his staff in a large arc towards the bunker-like door. The door panels flew open without so much as a sound.

"Mr. Earth King! We have important news about the fire nation that you need to know!" Sokka immediately proclaimed once the small amount of dust had settled.

_Wait a minute, _thought Korra idly. Didn't they visit the Earth King's throne room twice according to history, and only informed him of the plan on the second visit. And according to the history books, this would be the first visit. Something tells her that her very presence could be affecting the past, but she didn't think too heavily on it. Besides, this was seemingly small details and maybe everything would work out later. She just hoped her presence didn't do anything drastic to how everything was to play out. Korra decided to keep silent while Sokka handled his thing as unofficial spokesman.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Okay. So from what it seems, it looks unanimous who will show up. I won't say myself who it is. Just read and find out. Remember, I am aware of how the conversations played out, but small changes in a time stream can affect anything, even dialogue. Besides, it keeps it fresh. There might be some canon dialogue, but just keep reading.  
_

Meanwhile in Republic City...

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Tarlokk demanded. He did not want this to escalate out of control. The avatar was becoming too much of a thorn in his side for him to just ignore her. Kidnapping her was not part of the plan. Until he found a way to resolve this situation in Republic City, she would remain in that box. But now, unexpected guests had arrived at the entrance of his safe-house. A safe-house which no one should have known about.

As if silently answering his question, four men appeared out of the shadows cast upon the floor into the dim light of the room. One man took lead and they all stopped, Tarlokk a few feet across from the now revealed figures.

"Amon," Tarlokk said cooly, though in reality he was the slightest bit nervous. It wasn't possible the Amon could have tracked him here. It was a secluded area, away from any curious passerbys. And out of all the people...

"It's time for you to be equalized," Amon said deliberately, ominously. Tarlokk would not back down however, and readied himself in a waterbending stance. Namely, Bloodbending.  
Arcing his arms in a predetermined pattern, the result was all of Amon's subordinates suddenly being forced to the ground through some sort of invisible grip. Amon seemed to have been affected, but only momentarily.

"That's impossible!" Tarlokk uttered. How was Amon simply resisting his bloodbending, almost brushing it off. Only one person he knew was able to do such a thing. But he was gone and this stranger would not take his bending. Something that was a very part of him. But no matter how much he internally coached himself, Amon kept trudging forward, his steps more confident and more controlled until with great speed that only experienced fighters had, he armlocked him.

Suddenly, Amon was above him, ready to take his bending. Tarlokk's eyebrows shot up in suprise, this was it.

Except the touch didn't come. Before Amon could complete his process, he was distracted by a noise from the room downstairs. It sounded of Shredded metal. Disregarding Tarlokk for the moment, he simply decided to knock him unconscious. After a disconcerting ridge hand to Tarlokk's neck, he signaled for his recovering subordinates to follow him.

"What the..." His lieutenant couldn't help but say. The box that Avatar Korra was supposedly trapped in was simply large chunks of warped metal, as though something exploded from the inside.

"Liutenant, hand me a glove," Amon requested. The liutenant complied and Amon put one on to closely examine the center of the wreckage.

"Metalbending, perhaps?" One of the other infantry units asked aloud.

"No. No metalbending, or firebending is powerful enough to cause damage to a box like this. At least, unless she was a fully realized avatar, which she isn't..." Amon replied monotonously.

"However, we'll have to be prepared. She's apparently escaped somewhere, and we must find out "where" is."

* * *

"Guys did you see that?" Mako yelled aloud from the window inside of the air temple. From his clear view of the Aang memorial Statue, it's eyes grew an intense white before slowly fading back to natural color of bronze and steel.

"I saw it," Tenzin said, while stroking his beard in thought. "That can only mean one thing. The glowing of eyes represent an interaction between the Avatar and the spirit world."

"That definitely means she's out there somewhere," Bolin suggested. "We should check out that statue. Isn't there a shrine under it?" Bolin asked.  
Tenzin sighed deeply. "Normally, no one is often permitted inside of the shrine, but the situation calls for us to take a look. It might help us," he commented, beginning to make his way toward the the door. "Turning around, Mako noticed Asami hadn't moved from her spot.

"Asami, you coming?" Mako asked, concerned. She seemed upset about something and seemed to just realize he asked a question.

"Yeah, i'm fine. Someone should keep Pema and the children company," Asami replied. Her response wasn't completely sincere, and Mako knew it, but he didn't know the source of what was bothering her, so he simply nodded and continued to follow Bolin and Tenzin. He didn't hear her depressed sigh.

"So Mister Tenzin, what's inside this here mysterious cave," Bolin asked semi-dramatically. Leave it to him to lighten the mood by just the right amount.

"This is where my father's former possessions lie. His staff, Old clothing and such.

"That's pretty cool."

"And his body is buried here," Tenzin commented offhandedly.

"Wha! Seriously? That's neat-o!" Bolin replied. Man, he was learning things new in a span of five minutes! But what caught his attention the most was that it felt as though something was drawing him.

"Hey guys...You should see this," Bolin said with a raised voice, so as not to be yelling. Tenzin and Mako quickly backtracked to what he was staring at.

It was Aang's Staff. It usually sat there, preserved through constant maintenance, but the strange thing was that it was glowing faintly.

"Uh, is that supposed to happen?" Bolin asked innocently.

"I don't think so, bro," Mako stated. "Maybe there's something in it or something," he said distractedly.

"May I?" he asked Tenzin. He nodded in response. Mako lightly touched the staff. Tenzin and Bolin's eyes were suddenly assaulted by a bright flash. It barely lasted more than a second. Like a surprise camera shot.

"Uh, where's Mako?" Bolin inquired once his vision returned. Tenzin simply shrugged, signifying he didn't know. Bolin gazed back at the Staff and his eyes widened.

"Oh, no! The staff is cursed!"


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: This story is about to get the slightest bit crackish. But I guess a time traveling Avatar is crackish enough, ;P. By the way, anyone ever noticed that June and Asami share a slight resemblance? Huh? Huh? I'm also continuing to take more suggestions. It doesn't have to stop Korra and Mako. Even General Iroh could be incorporated. Let me know who you want in the story and I will consider it.  
_

Korra sat on Appa's saddle along with the gaang as the great flying bison sailed through the air towards a secluded area in the middle ring. Though Korra was a small amount of added weight, Appa seemed to have no trouble carrying the additional person.

"Okay, so the diplomatic approach didn't work out so well," Sokka said sincerely. The rest of the group could easily interpret it as sarcasm from what happened in there.

"Sokka, Long Feng accused us as insurgents and the Earth King bought his story. Of course it didn't go well!" Katara ground out. Sokka sighed, knowing she was right.

"Well, he has good oratorical skills. I almost couldn't disagree with him."

"And one doesn't just 'pop in on the Earth King'", Toph sidebar'd, complete with air quotes and a parody of Joo Dee's voice.

"You guys are going to need some solid proof to show that there's a war going on. Like an obvious clue of an oncoming invasion or something," Korra suggested.

"You mean like that one?" Sokka said, pointing at a large object with a drilling protrusion at the front end of it. It was heading steadily toward the Outer wall of Ba Sing Se and upon the roof of the object was the Fire Nation insignia.

"Yeah, like that," Korra replied calmly.

* * *

"WOAH!" Mako exclaimed. He suddenly found he had executed a face plant on metal floor. Luckily, he hadn't bruised anything. Lifting his head and blinking the stars out of his spazzed out vision, his 20/20 eyesight returned to him. What met his sight was really weird.

"Did I just wake up in a history reenactment?" Mako self-inquired in a very low tone of voice. He was in a cockpit of some sort, with guards in antique armors. There was also a lady there too, who wore some sort of hairpiece in the shape of a flame.  
Where the heck was this? Slowly rolling to the side and safely out of view, he looked out of a window near him. From the view outside, what met him was the sight of grassy plains mixed with natural dry dirt. Ahead of the strange vehicle he was in was a ridiculously tall wall which he had no idea what was on the other side.

"Got to get out of here," Mako muttered under his breath.

"You, stop right there," an intimidating gravelly voice said from behind him. He turned around to see three helmeted guards. His eyes falling to the weapons they carried, he figured this wasn't an act. Those weapons definitely weren't.

"Well, well. Is this a spy that we have here?" The voice was feminine, and he had to look past the guards to a woman that walked forward to stand next to one of the guards. It was the same lady with the hairpiece.

"Look, I don't even know how I got here, I-" Mako cut himself off by thrusting a punch forward and emitting a ball of flame towards the center of the impromptu group. The startled gaurds jumped backwards to avoid the blast, while the woman -Mako figured her to be close to his age- hardly reacted to the flame and had rather gave chase as he sprinted towards what looked like a room full of beam supports.  
He faintly heard her call for a 'Mai' and 'Ty-Lee'. Strange names, but names weren't high on his priority list. Shoulder tckling the door open, he was greeted by any platforms with beam supports all around.

"Stand and fight, intruder!" the girl demanded confidently.  
Mako turned around to regard the three. The lead girl who was apparently the leader had entered a fighting stance. Mako thought offhandedly thought that it reminded him of the old scrolls his parents use to show him and Bolin when they were very young. He had to admit, she was pretty, with bangs hanging down on either side of her face at the front of her head. First time he's seen a hairstyle like that before.

"I'm not fighting you! I don't even know where this is," Mako tried to explain.

"You're obviously lying," the lead girl reprimanded as she leaped forward and snapped a kick in his direction. Blue flame shot towards him, forcing him to dodge to his right with a duck that he learned in his boxing classes.

"You gotta be kidding me..._blue _fire?" Mako shouted, incredulous. First, he's being chased by three girls he doesn't even know, then one of them attacks him with blue fire? What the heck was going on?

Mako decided to retaliate to at least lengthen the distance between the two. After a spin kick from the girl, he dashed forward and ducked towards the kick, surprising her. Leaning into his movement, he snapped off three quick jabs and a cross punch. His opponent was forced to dodge the first two and dissipate the third, pushing her backwards. Mako bounced on his toes with his hands in a neutral boxing stance, waiting for her next move. Mako for one didn't realize how much he had suprised her. Not only did he almost easily brush off a prodigious firebender, he nearly blindsided her with some unknown fighting style.

"What fighting style was _that_?" She demanded, the slightest bit flustered. Mako blinked before relaxing his stance but staying on guard.

"You never heard of boxing?" Mako inquired curiously.

She resisted the urge to moan in annoyance. "Ty Lee, take care of him," she ordered. Mako looked to see the bubbly girl with the pony tail running straight for him.

"The heck?" Mako asked no one in particular, throwing a jab that released a ball of flame. Ty Lee easily dodged it with athletic acrobatics. Standing his ground, Mako threw several jabs with both hands and releasing fire while stepping back slowly to keep the distance between them for a few extra seconds. Before he knew it, his next punch was interrupted by quick jabs to his arm then one to his back.

"A chi blocker?" Mako was confused. He knew that the majority of the equalists were trained in the art of chi blocking, but he doubted this Ty Lee was involved with them.

"Wow, he knows about chi blocking? You're smart _and _cute!" Ty Lee complimented. Oddly enough, she was laying next to him and studying his face. Mako's face flushed from embarrassment and then he sighed.

"What do you people want. I don't know what's going on," the young firebender reiterated.

"We can exchange information after you're secured in a cell," the armored girl commented offhandedly. "By the way, you may refer to me as princess Azula. I'm surprised you don't know who your rulers are. To her surprise, Mako struggled to hold back a chuckle. Mai raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What's so funny?" Azula asked cooly, feigning uninterest. At that moment, several guards filed in from the room that Mako was running towards initially.

"A princess? Heh, that's a new one," Mako said in between fits of held back laughter. Azula couldn't help but feel very irritated with him at that moment and wanted him out of her sight.

"Put him in the holding cell," Azula ordered the guards as she backtracked to the main room of the vehicle. Mako may not have known, but no one got under her skin like that. She would have to find out about him and his strange fighting style.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: This story is about to get the slightest bit crackish. But I guess a time traveling Avatar is crackish enough, ;P. By the way, anyone ever noticed that June and Asami share a slight resemblance? Huh? Huh? I'm also continuing to take more suggestions. It doesn't have to stop Korra and Mako. Even General Iroh could be incorporated. Let me know who you want in the story and I will consider it.  
_

_Imagine that appa's been rescued already. Besides, you know what happens there. Except, Appa is rescued before the drill is found. Enjoy :)  
_

Down below, the plains' calm vison of beauty was interrupted by the large mechanical drill ambling toward the wall of Ba Sing Se.

"This isn't good. That thing looks like it could punch right through the wall," Sokka said distractedly. He was leaning a bit over the saddle and examining the Giant Drill heading towards Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall.

"Guys, we're going to have to get inside that thing," he continued after thinking on it. Aang, Korra, and Katara nodded in agreement except Toph.

"I'm not going in there, I can't sense any earth besides the plains. I'm staying with Appa," Toph said morosely. She would have been glad to help, but she wasn't of much use to them with no earth to bend.

"That's fine. Appa will have extra protection," Aang agreed while using the air to jump off of Appa's head. Katara slid off of the Bison's side, while Korra slid down his tail.

"Hey, Katara, you got any extra water pouches?" Korra asked quickly before they were to enter from the bottom of the drill.

"Sure," Katara replied. Jogging over to get close to Appa, she bent the water in one of the pouches secured on the saddle, levitating it to herself then tossing it to the future Avatar. Korra nodded in thanks, which Katara reciprocated before they ran to catch up with Aang.

"Hurry up guys!" Aang urged, his feet just disappearing into the opening under the hull with Sokka right behind him.

* * *

Mako exhaled in frustration. He was inside of a cell, which in turn was inside of a giant drill, according to what he heard from Azula in a conversation with one of her underlings. He allowed a weird thought to enter his mind.

"I must be in the past," Mako whispered to himself objectively. With the cell door being securely locked and Azula or any others nowhere to be seen, he didn't have much to do. So he let himself think about the idea. For one, the holding cell didn't look to bad. Not like a dungeon kind of cell, but more like a guest room, which Mako had to snort at. Their was a single vase in the back corner of the room, that was ornately crafted, with an expertly designed fire nation emblem painted on it. The chair which he sat on was made of metal, bit contained cushions on the seat and where one's back would rest. Their was a single plain table with a modest amount of fruit on it.

"At least I can take comfort that she's not trying to starve me to death," Mako said sarcastically, reaching for an apple.

"Since you're in a sociable mood, how about we start with who hired you?"

Mako jumped slightly in surprised. To his left outside the cell stood Azula with her hands on her hips.

"I guess you do that 'appearing suddenly' thing a lot?" Mako asked rhetorically.

"Yes," Azula deadpanned. A guard came by and dropped off a chair for Azula before returning to his station.  
She placed the chair across from Mako, still outside the cell, and crossed her legs.

"Again. Who hired you?" she asked.

"Nobody," Mako said after an exasperated sigh.

"Then here's an easier question. How did you come to be on my vehicle?"

Mako began to raise an accusing finger before giving up.

"Okay, fair enough. I don't know. I was...home, before I woke up here suddenly," Mako answered, leaning back in his chair, betraying the confusion he was feeling.  
He was almost going to ask if this was the fire nation, but thought better of it. Whether it was or not, asking a question like that wouldn't convince her of his sanity. He decided to rephrase it.

"I answered a question. My turn to ask. Where is here exactly?" Mako inquired. He noticed Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes in annoyance. She knew that going back and forth in an argument wouldn't help here, so she decided to go along with it.

"We are currently in front of the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se," she answered, studying his face for any kind of telling reaction. He only appeared to pinch the bridge of his nose and drop his head in defeat.

'Great, I think I really am stuck in the past,' Mako thought defeated.

* * *

Okay, we're in. What we need to find something that supports the whole structure from the inside. The things that keep it stable," Sokka briefed. They were all inside of the engine control room at the moment.

"Why don't we just blow the engine?" Korra asked the obvious question.

"We _could. _But they would just find a way to repair it somehow. And it would attract guards to the area," Sokka replied calmly. He looked in either direction before signaling the rest of the team to follow him across the room to a door that would lead to a hallway containing corridors.

_Ugh, this sucks. I can't use my firebending, _Korra thought frustratedly. Sokka had just led them to a large expanse of a room which contained quantities of support beams after Aang's suggestion.

"Okay, you guys need to take down the beams along the edges of the room. That'll cause the roofing to collapse and working towards the interior will malfunction the drill!" Sokka explained encouragingly. So the rest of the gang got to work in destroying the beams. With a second waterbender helping Katara and Aang, much better time was being made although it was still taking a while.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Okay, I got a few suggestions for General Iroh. I will consider him among other characters. Keep bringing in the reviews and suggestions. I have some concepts thought out for some characters, so keep em' coming.  
_

Azula for the third time, resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"This is going nowhere," she stated the obvious, in which Mako could only shrug. Even though he mysteriously appeared on a heavily guarded siege vehicle undetected, he had no idea how he got there or what land he was even in.

"We will continue this conversation later, when you're not being unnecessarily difficult," she concluded and got up from her seat to walk back to the control room with Mai and Ty Lee.

"Wait-What? You mean I'm stuck in here? I don't even know what the heck's going on! I'm as confused as you all are!" Mako complained. Of course, his words fell on deaf ears, either from Azula ignoring him, or she she was probably too far away to hear at the time.

He figured it was the former. While he was in this cell, he guessed he should figure some way out. Examining the cell again, he looked for any flaws in the design of the room. The bars were metallic and firmly in place at their foundations. Now that he thought about it, the whole cell was metallic to a certain extent. Maybe if he could charge the metal somehow...

"That's it!" Mako said, congratulating himself. All he needed to do was to give certain metal plates within the room enough of a charge to warp the metal. Maybe it would give him some space to escape. Entering a relaxed stance, he arched his hands in a quick pace and gathered electricity from within and around him. From there, he threw his pointing hand forward, allowing the generated electricity flow through and careen towards different pieces of metal in the holding cell.  
Just as he expected, assorted plates of metal began to bend in different directions, causing the bars to give way to the warping metals.  
Proud of his handiwork, Mako slid back in his chair to regain a breath.

"Never used so much lightning before. I need to get out of here and find Korra and get home. I hope I can find her," he said to himself. Gaining a second wind, he jumped out of the seat and ran towards the door he was trying to reach in the first place. Seconds later, he could hear the alarm siren going off.

* * *

"Uh, that can't be good..." Sokka spoke, standing still to figure out where the alarm was coming from. a red tinted light bathed the room in flashing patterns, alternating from the natural color of the room to the red hue.

"This is the last one!" Aang called out. He, Katara, and Korra had just sliced through another beam. Just as Sokka planned, A rumbling could be heard and felt reverberating through the vehicle before it died down. However, the Klaxon continued to sound.

"Guys! This way, if we run towards the rear of the drill, we can get out faster!" Sokka ordered with a wave. The rest followed suit towards the other end of the room. The beams continued to collapse and the rumbling continued and ceased sporadically.

* * *

Since the alarm did not yet reach the control room, she was alerted by an official in the adjacent hallway. Apparently, there was an intruder alert caused by a hull breach.

"Mai. Ty Lee, come with me," Azula ordered and then walked out to follow the official to the room that the intruder(s) had apparently been last.  
Ty Lee had bumped Azula's elbow with her own to get her attention.

"You like him don't you?" the acrobat asked knowingly. Azula frowned in response.

"What are you going on about?"

"I saw your aura! It got all wiggly and stuff when you were talking to him." Ty Lee described with a flourish and a dramatic hand gesture. Mai had half smiled at Ty Lee's conversation. Azula, this time gave in and rolled her eyes.

"Ty Lee, I am and would not be interested in him. I was simply questioning him," Azula said convincingly. Ty Lee nodded but pressed on.

"Yeah, but you always threaten the other prisoners with some sort of punishment. You didn't really threaten him at all." Both Azula and Mai knew that she was caught.

"That is true enough, you know," Mai offered. They were just turning a corner and were a doorway from where the alarm originated. At least she didn't have to bother explaining herself to them.

"Mai, don't cosign," Azula told her, to which Mai shook her head knowingly. Azula pushed open the door, revealing four individuals, three of which were teenagers.  
She could recognize the boy, the avatar and the shorter of the two waterbenders, but the other one she didn't recognize. She wore stylized bangs on ether side of her face and she wore strange clothing.

"You think she might be in league with the guy?" Mai voiced Azula's internal thought.

"Possibly. It's the only reasonable explanation for the peculiar clothing," Azula analyzed, referring to Korra's training gi. "It isn't unheard of for firebenders to sympathize with the enemy." With that said, Azula punched towards them, unleashing a azure fireball. The two waterbenders used their water to form a wall that evaporated it before it reverted to a ball and launched towards Azula. Mai threw three stilettos to cover the fire princess while Ty Lee cartwheeled towards Sokka, who unsheathed his club sword.

"I take it you're in cahoots with the avatar then," Azula stated to Korra. Korra spun to the side of Azula's kick, dodging both the foot and the flame and launched her arm in Azula's direction. The water she launched hardened into spikes that careened towards her. While Korra was busy with Azula, Katara held her own against Mai and Aang continued to evade Ty Lee's chi blocks. Sokka closed in on Azula with his club sword, but she easily brushed him off with a roundhouse kick to his arm, making his swing go wide.

* * *

Though everyone else was mired with concentration, Korra saw this as an awesome opportunity. She was actually fighting princess Azula of the fire nation! History books say that she was a prodigy, but the order of the lotus say that Korra herself is one also. Evading a barrage of kicks from Azula, Korra hardened the water she held in the air into a large ice ball which she punched from different angles. From each impact, spikes of ice launched from the ball towards Azula like a storm of arrows. Although Azula was surprised at such an unusual technique, she compensated by launching a large fireball and then shooting shuriken sized shots behind it, effectively melting the ice arrows before they could cause damage.

"I always thought water didn't have enough applications," Korra said quietly to herself.

"Time to end this," Azula stated condescendingly. She began to arch her fingers in a fixed pattern before blue streaks of electricity began to stream from them. Korra figured their was only seconds left before she launched the lightning. Korra concentrated before finally giving up.

"Ah, What the hell!" she shouted before launching into the air and kicking towards Azula. What threw them all for a loop was the fact that fire materialized and blasted from Korra's foot towards her opponent.

Aang's jaw dropped comically.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Okay, I got a few suggestions for General Iroh. I will consider him among other characters. Keep bringing in the reviews and suggestions. I have some concepts thought out for some characters, so keep em' coming.  
_

If Zuko could see her face, he would laugh his head off. Azula's expression showed only raw and unadulterated shock. It seemed fitting that only something that was plain impossible and defied natural laws would stun her so much. Ty Lee wore a similar expression while Mai's eyebrows managed to rise is surprise.

"I didn't just see that...did I," Sokka asked, breaking the silence. Aang continued to hold that same expression of utter, incredulous, unbelieving flabbergast.  
He hadn't moved an inch. Korra sighed sadly. She knew she just made a horrible mistake and that she probably ruined all of history. But hey, she had to do something, right? Katara's train of thought was not dissimilar to the rest of the spectators.

"You just bent more than one element," she said guardedly. Toph was right. But did she know that she could bend an entirely different element? She doubted that she knew _this _much.  
Korra only nodded before moving towards the group.

"We have to get out of here. Before they recover," she urged them while pushing them along towards the door. They didn't try too hard to get moving, but didn't resist either and they made it out safely.

"Okay...I'm pretty sure I didn't have cactus juice today, so I know I didn't hallucinate what I just saw. _How _exactly did you bend not only water, but _fire _of all things?" At the moment, the group was under the Drill where Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Korra were walking back to where Toph and Appa were located. The Drilling vehicle behind them cast a shadow over all of them much like the mass of unexplained revelation that hit them only minutes before.

"I can explain once were back ins-"

"No." Everyone was surprised at Aang's sudden demand.

"You have to tell us _now_," Aang said with a frown, his hard look aimed at the ground, even as they continued to walk.

"You're not gonna believe me if I told you," Korra said and crossed her arms. Aang felt slightly offended by that seemingly callous remark.

"Hey! I'm pretty sure I have a right to know!"

"Aang, relax. I'm sure she'll explain when we get there," Katara reasoned, attempting to defuse what was turning to become a full-blown argument.

"Katara, I can't. I'm the avatar! I'm supposed to be about balance, and some girl out of nowhere bends _two _elements? That needs an explanation!"

"Did you just call me _girl_?" Korra asked, indignant.

"Ugh! That's not the point. This has no reasonable explanation!" Aang shouted, throwing his arms into the air in frustration.

"Fine, fine! I'll tell you! Geez!" Korra exhaled, giving off the impression that she was annoyed. I'm the avatar," she deadpanned. Aang almost looked like he didn't even acknowledge her statement.

"What..."

"What!" Sokka parroted, but with more fervor.

"You're not the avatar!" Aang almost shouted.

"You don't know me!" Korra shot back and then they went back and forth.

"Guys! ENOUGH!" Katara yelled after pinching the bridge of her nose. Aang and Korra turned their backs to each other quickly.

"I can't believe you call yourself the avatar..." Aang muttered under his breath.

"Can't believe i'm arguing with a twelve year old," Korra muttered in similar volume. Both harrumphed in defiance simultaneously before silently walking to the base of where the bison was situated.

"Looks like pigtails and twinkle toes had their first fight," Toph said knowingly to the group as a whole once all of them were in earshot.

Katara took a seat near the front of the saddle next to Toph while everyone else filed in in other parts of the saddle.

"Toph, did you know that she could bend..._other _elements?" Katara asked slowly. She still was not able to completely process that Korra could be another avatar.

"I had my suspicions. I didn't know it was something cool like bending other elements though," Toph replied with hands behind her head. Ironically, she didn't sound at all surprised.

"You knew?" Aang inquired accusingly. Ever since Korra revealed her ability to bend other elements, Aang was clearly acting out of sorts.

"Aang! Chill out! You're acting way out of character!" Sokka said seriously. Before Aang could counter-argue, he continued. "And I understand! But there _has _to be a reason. It just can't happen for no apparent reason," Sokka explained, filling in the role of voice of reason.

"Wow, who would of thought that Sokka of all people wouldn't respond incredulously to something like this," Katara commented off to the side. Everyone shared a chuckle, except Sokka who's comment was to the effect of "Seriously, guys?" before it quieted down.

"Korra...I mean _Avatar _Korra. I apologize for being rude earlier," Aang said solemnly with a air nomadic bow. Korra looked down for a second before she spoke.

"I apologize too. I should have told you _something _earlier and I hadn't. For that, I'm sorry," Korra reciprocated with a southern water tribe bow.

"Wait a minute. That was a _Southern _water tribe greeting," Katara commented confused.

_Oh snap, _Korra thought, astonished.

He didn't even know how he got here, but he was in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. His rank of general wouldn't mean much here except for show, but what confounded him was the traditional clothing that _everyone_ seemed to be donning at this moment. He assessed his situation. He was not more than seconds ago on the flag ship of the United Forces and then...he woke up in the middle of Ba Sing Se. He knew that this was indeed the impenetrable city. In his younger days, his mother brought him here when he was still heir in training in line to be the next fire lord.

"But how did I get here? And why does the place look exactly like the historical documents?" General Iroh II asked himself, taking in the sights. Now that he thought about it, the setting looked _wrong _somehow. It actually looked _older _than when he visited as a child, he thought amusingly. Taking off his government issue gloves, he picked his face up from the bench he miraculously happened to be sleeping on. He massaged his temples and unbuttoned his collar.

"I need to find a telegraph station."

Putting his weight on his legs, he was suddenly overcome with a feeling of vertigo before it passed as quickly as it came. He shook his head to force away the fog in his brain before surveying his surroundings. To his left was a road that led to what he remembered was called the fountain of lights. To his right was a tea shop.

"The Jasmine Dragon!" he said in realization. Somewhere he could find information from. He wondered if his sister was there right now. She always did take after grandfather when it came to Tea.

Walking inside the shop, he frowned immediately. The place was much smaller than remembered and there were only three tables set up with a random assortment of customers enjoying the tea. To be honest, the shop looked like an antique. He pushed the thought out of his mind and strolled to the front desk and rang the bell. Moments later, out came a kindly old man, but Iroh could tell that he was a warrior. He didn't look that much out of shape.

The general almost resisted the urge to say "Uncle?" before realizing that he was a young man, and the older man before should be well, dead.

"Uh...Tea please?" Iroh II asked lamely and The older man seemed to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Of course. You know, you remind me much of my nephew. You resemble him greatly, even moreso if your hair were not so well done," he said with a hearty chuckle. Iroh II smiled in spite of himself. Even though his namesake did not know who he was, he was still just as skilled at keeping the mood light.

"Heh. Thanks. By the way, do you happen to have a newspaper anywhere?"

"Newspaper?" The younger Iroh cleared his throat.

"I mean scroll. Just wondering what the current news is," he amended. He was fearing what he thought might be going on.

"I will bring it back with your-what tea did you say you wanted?"

"Oh. Jasmine Tea please."

"Ah. I see you appreciate the more exotic flavors," the kind man appraised before retreating to the back where the tea machine was.

"Lee! I need one Jasmine Tea!"

"Right, Uncle!" Iroh II thought amused that the second man sounded much like him. But that amusement turned to bemusement when the owner of that voice came to the counter with the tea. He had a scar adorning the left side of his face. Iroh II immediately looked at the tea tray, so that it did not seem like he was staring.

"Thank you, Gran...Lee," Iroh II corrected himself while accepting the tea and scroll. There was a pause before 'Lee' responded with "Sure."

General Iroh could not help but let hi eye twitch after looking at the date signature atop the scroll.

_A/N: I know, this cliffhanger was just cruel and I feel your pain. This was necessary to advance the plot. But don't worry, there will be plenty of action, next chapter.  
_

_:)  
_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Yes. General Iroh is in the story. And yes, In canon, this takes place where General Iroh has not yet met Korra and the rest of Team Avatar II. Also keep the suggestions coming. Thank you for all your reviews! 125! Awesome! And the story is still young! Enjoy._

"This just defies all rules of philosophy. I mean anyone can agree that time travel is impossible," General Iroh said to himself while studying the scroll. He noticed offhandedly that the tea cup had no handle. Still sitting at the counter, his thoughts traveled to his appearance. His grandfather, who was about 3 meters away from him, always taught him that he'd have to adapt to any situation. So unassuming clothes was a must.

"Say, Lee," Iroh II invited with a wave of his hand. The other young man held a look of unmasked annoyance before consenting.

"Yes?" he asked, trying not to show uninterest.

"Do you or your manager have any extra clothing? I'm not exactly in traveling condition," Iroh explained, silently gesturing toward his royal military vest. Lee examined the vest curiously, looking over the strange method in which it was sewn together. Was it a robe or a shirt...? The young man with the scar scratched the side of his head before nodding.

"Yeah. My uncle probably does have some spare clothes. Be right back," Zuko said evenly before retreating to the back. Iroh looked around before deciding to make his hair unkempt with a ruffle of his hair. No point in attracting attention with a hairstyle that wasn't thought of for another what, 70 years? Looking at the reflection of his watch, he looked almost like his grandfather, especially with his hair like that.

"No good can come of this," General Iroh said quietly to himself.

* * *

"Okay. This is awkward," Korra said aloud.

"You're not from the northern water tribe are you?" Katara questioned, leaning backwards on the edge of the saddle. They had yet to take to the air. They were waiting for the sun to set so that they would fly undetected from the Dai Li.

"I'm _actually_ from the southern water tribe," Korra said deliberately. Katara simply put her hand under her chin in thought.

"But i've never seen you before. Believe me, I would know if there were another waterbender. And female at that." Korra exhaled in nervous anticipation.

"The thing is...I'm from-" Before she could finish, her news was cut off by a shout from near the drill. A strangely dressed man was running towards them and he repeated Korra's name.

"Maybe I did have cactus juice this morning," Sokka suggested out loud. The rest of the original team avatar almost felt like agreeing with Sokka. Apparently, Korra was acquainted with him, for she jumped off of the bison to embrace him in a friendly hug.

Sokka shook his head, thinking that it would just wipe away all the craziness from his vision. None of this was making any sense even though he was the voice of reason not too long ago.

"Mako! How did you get here?" Korra asked excitedly after they broke apart from the brief hug. Mako exhaled with mirth.

"I have a lot to tell you," he said cryptically. He simply gestured to the large drill with the point of his finger.

"Really, we were just in there," Korra responded in amusement. Mako nodded in understanding. They perhaps just missed running into each other inside the Drill by a few doors. Their conversation soon to follow was cut off by Sokka's shouts of "Hey".

"Sorry to interrupt you guys loving reunion," Sokka began. Mako started to contradict his statement before the water tribe warrior continued.

"But we gotta get going. Princess crazy is comin' after us," Sokka finished with a beckoning wave. Mako and Korra nodded before hopping onto Appa.

"I hope there isn't _more _of you guys. This is probably the most Appa can carry," Aang advised shortly before taking the reins.

"Appa?" Mako asked Korra. She nodded to his unspoken question. Mako took a breath to gain his bearings. "Wow," he said for lack of a better expression. Appa took off back toward the Earth Kingdom capital.

* * *

After a three minute wait, Zuko returned with the requested clothes for the strangely dressed customer. On his return, the man who identified himself as "Luo" thanked him for the clothing and saw himself to the door. He didn't try to sustain any kind of conversation except for a brief good bye to him and his uncle which he appreciated. What disconcerted him though was Luo's now unkempt hair. He could almost say he looked related because he saw himself in that face. He thought no more of it and retreated back to the supply room where Iroh was unpacking a bag of tea leaves.

"Mysterious man he is, no?" Iroh had asked without turning around. Zuko figured his uncle had voiced his thoughts.

"Yeah," Zuko simply said. "Strange clothing. But he seemed like a military man. Was he fire nation? He looked like a noble. But what would he be doing here?"

"Hm. That is a good question. But it has no foreseeable answer at the moment. But it is no concern of ours. If it is important enough, you two might meet again," his uncle said sagely. He seemed unperturbed, continuing his teamaking process by letting the leaves become heated over the small flame lit by the flint and stone. Droplets of tea extract were sliding into the pot that Iroh was watching intently and with great interest. Zuko shook his head with a smile. They were definitely settling down here in the earth kingdom, but why did he say him and the man. Why not Uncle too?

"I feel like I should know him from somewhere," Zuko told his uncle before grasping the broom.

* * *

"This...is not...happening," Azula mumbled, forcing self-restraint. How could the Drill have gotten destroyed without even getting close enough to the wall? This blunder was salvageable but still embarrassing.

"The avatar had some extra helping hands. We couldn't have expected that so soon," Ty Lee reasoned. She was practicing a standing yoga stretch and balancing on one leg. Azula envied Ty Lee's aloofness in situations like this. Too bad, Azula thought. She couldn't afford being perfect _and _aloof.

The fire princess walked over to the nearby window and waited there, watching the bison take off.

"What are you thinking?" Mai inquired from near the wall of the room they were currently in. Her arms were crossed in the customary pose she usually held where she could be battle ready and relaxed simultaneously. She knew that Azula no doubt had a contingency plan prepared.

"From the direction they're traveling, they are probably headed for the earth kingdom palace. There won't be enough time to cover this up," Azula figured after looking at the warped girders that were sliced in half in certain places.

"All thanks to that girl," she concluded. Two elements? She didn't even want to follow the train of thought she was beginning to explore. One avatar was already dangerous enough. Maybe she was a descendant of one of those clans that always claimed they could bend two elements. Even though that idea was farfetched, it would seem more sensible.

"We need to track her and the firebender. Both of them are skilled fighters. They could be high ranking officers in a revolutionary force," Azula assessed, not yet taking her eyes off of the girders.

"By the way, how did he even escape his cell?" she asked as an afterthought.

"The forensics specialists say there was evidence of magnetism," Mai offered.

Lightning.

"So he can generate lightning too? We'll have to work fast to capture them," Azula concluded. She walked towards the rear of the ship, hands crossed behind her back, with Mai and Ty Lee right behind her. The remaining imperial guards within the Drill went to follow behind the group.

"You mean capture the cute firebender?" Ty Lee was heard asking aloud.

"Ty Lee! Cut it out. We have a job to do!" Azula cried defensively. Mai simply shook her head in amusement.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Nothing much to say about this chapter. Just enjoy it, read it, and review it. :)  
_

Young Iroh scratched his chin in thought. What would be the first thing he should do? Obviously, he thought he should find a way to get back to his own time. Of course, that was out of the question. He wouldn't know where to start. Therefore, he would have to find his best lead.

"The Avatar," he said to himself. He was the physical bridge to the spirit world after all. "Since my Grandfather is probably a teenager around this time, this would have to be seventy years into the past," he said, distracted with thought. From the corner of his eye, he could spot suspicious men in dark, forest green robes and dark, cone hats. He was getting a bad feeling. And he always had a respect for his instincts. Turning a corner slowly, he kept a cautious eye out for the two strangely dressed men.  
They were an unassuming distance away, but they followed him into the corner.

"Where is he?" One of the two men asked the other.

"Not sure. We need to keep an eye on him and his uncle when he shows up again," the other responded to his fellow Dai Li agent. Iroh, who was propped up on an overhang off the side of the alley wall, shook his head, feeling very distraught.  
He kept silent until they walked away.

"Great, they think I'm grandfather." Iroh knew he could easily get his hair cut, but he didn't have any earth kingdom money to speak of. The avatar of this time would be an airbender. And he was known to not be efficient in hiding until months later. Finding him shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Speaking of..." Iroh said quietly as he spotted a huge flying bison heading towards the Earth King's palace.

* * *

The gang of unlikely heroes had finally made it to the Earth King's palace after pretty much demolishing the imperial guards on the way to the throne room.

"Seriously. That doesn't speak well for their training if they got pummeled by kids of sixteen years and younger," Sokka said aloud after reaching the large throne room door. The team plus additions gathered around the door.

...

"Flying Kick-a-Pow!" Sokka flew bodily towards the large bunker door with his outstretched foot, which proved ineffective. He fell straight down as he had lost all of his momentum.

"That went well, what now," Toph commented blandly. Sokka picked himself up off the floor with a sigh, having no answer.

"Leave it to me," Aang declared, positioning his arms at an angle behind him. Leaping forward, he thrust both arms in a pushing manner, causing the door to give and blast forward before resting on the polished floor. The individuals already on the inside of the throne room were frozen in surprise, of course not expecting their anti siege door to be blasted open by what seemed to be a gust of air. Lower ranked court officials glanced towards the Grand Secretariat, who regained his bearings quickly, who nodded. With permission to leave, the court officials filed out of the throne room through a side door.

"What are you doing here," Long Feng asked, suspicious.

* * *

Iroh filed through the throng of people, slowly but steadily making his way towards the palace. At this rate, it would take him twenty minutes to get to the palace entrance, and even longer to get processed through to the royal hallway.

"This is taking forever," Iroh voiced aloud. of course, his comment was unheard, because of all the clamor produced by the large crowd of people. Looking around the general area, he then spotted a group of female warriors wearing facepaint. Three of them in fact. He ignored them as the line continued to amble forward. After several minutes he could finally see the guard that was processing the citizens to enter through the gates. Noticing unusual movement again, he looked again in the direction he saw the three women. They were walking towards the side of the palace, where human traffic was quite light.

"Strange," Iroh thought to himself as he decided to follow them. They looked like Earth Kingdom warriors, so maybe they had VIP access to the palace? Nonetheless, this could mean getting in to the palace faster, so he started his way around the crowd towards wherever they were entering the the large royal building from.

Stopping just at the corner, he decided to peer around to check if it was safe.

"How goes your end?" A Dai Li agent asked of another in the area that Iroh was observing.

"All is well. The coup is almost to completion. Once the princess makes contact with the earth king, the generals will be...indisposed," the second agent said in a hushed tone.

Coup? That did not sound assuring in the least. Entering the palace would be too great of a risk. And since this was the past, Iroh was confident that Aang's ragtag group would get out of it. It's written after all. Trying to rush in there could alter history in such a way that it would not favor the good guys. So he decided to withdraw for now and make his way back towards the Jasmine Dragon. Unfortunately, he did not know that the three women he saw were going to be ambushed and replaced with imposters in the next few hours.

* * *

"We have proof that there is a war going on, if you just follow us to the outer wall!" Sokka pleaded with the Earth King. The royal in question seemed to actually consider his plea before his eyes hardened.

"You invade my castle, ambush my men," the Earth King stated with closed eyes, "And you expect me to follow you outside of the palace?" the man reasoned sensibly.

The atmosphere was silent before Sokka decided to reply as respectfully as he could.

"Uh, yeah?" Korra resisted trying to facepalm in embarrassment.

"Earth King. I speak for my friends and as the avatar that there is something you should see that even Long Feng wouldn't be able to deny," Aang said with respectful conviction.

"This is obviously some sort of ploy," Long Feng remarked condescendingly. Earth King Kuei rested his head on his hand in thought.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to take a look," he admitted. Long Feng sighed under his breath. No matter, whatever they saw wouldn't matter anyway. The plan was already too far along. Whatever discovery they made was a moot point anyway and _King _Kuei wouldn't have any power by then.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Nothing much to say about this chapter. Just enjoy it, read it, and review it. :)  
_

General Iroh had just made his return to the tea shop to the pleasant surprise of his namesake.

"Ah, I see you have returned! Was my Jasmine tea that satisfying?" he asked in a half-joking manner, continuing to wipe down the polished wood counter with a rag. Iroh II had just returned from the Palace's front courtyard and he needed to find out how to group with Aang and his cohorts. But how? He doubted that the older gentleman and Grandfather Zuko were even officially allied with them yet. So he opted for a different approach.

"Not specifically," Iroh II said cooly, but accepted another cup of tea out of courtesy. The tea was pretty good, if he could say so himself.

"I was wondering what your thoughts were on the avatar," he stated, welcoming a response from the older man. "You seem like a learned traveler, so I would like to hear your opinion of him," young Iroh added, so as not to make the question seem completely out of the blue.

"Ah. The Avatar. A being who is often misunderstood. I have met him before actually. A young airbending lad," he said, as though recalling a humorous adventure. He didn't mind telling him that the boy was an airbender. It was pretty much common knowledge anyway.

"What has he been doing recently," the young man asked after taking a small sip of tea. The teamaker wasn't at all surprised by his question.

"I've heard from particular sources that he is searching for a firebending master," he said calmly. He didn't volunteer anymore information. Then it hit the young man like a ton of bricks. Of course! The wise man before him was a member of the Order of the White Lotus! Perhaps he could help him with his dilemma! How could he have forgotten?

"Do you fancy a game of Pai Sho?" Young Iroh asked offhandedly.

* * *

Team Avatar plus two had finally reached the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. There, Aang had pointed out the half destroyed Drill that stopped just short of the wall of the Impenetrable City, looking like an imploded Satomobile, as though it were leaking car battery acid. Except, you know, the battery acid was replaced with gallons upon gallons of hydraulic foam.

"Looks like someone ran their mileage," Sokka commented offhandedly, seeing the damage they actually managed to inflict on the giant Drill for the first time. The thing looked like it imploded.

"See? This proves that we are at war with the fire nation," Aang declared, gesturing his hand towards the destroyed vehicle. King Kuei leaned both hands on the railing. Deep in thought, he studied the vehicle from where he stood. It was indeed a fire nation sanctioned contraption. The large flame symbol plastered on the roof made sure of that. He may have been oblivious to the war, but there was no other reasonable explanation.

He sighed sadly, realizing the ramifications of everything that had took place.

"Secretariat Long Feng," he began with a seriousness that was absent when the team first met him. His tone definitely commanded silence. "You are hereby stripped of your rank. Guards, arrest him!" he commanded, pointing at the man in question.

"You can't do this to me! I am your most trusted advisor!" Long Feng spat in momentary bout of anger. However he did not resist. He allowed the two imperial guards to subdue him and to soon be placed in prison where the Dai Li would take care of him. However, no one counted on the Dai Li's loyalty.

After he was clearly out of earshot, the Earth King directed his attention towards the crew of children/teenagers. "I apologize for not believing you initially," the king said in a tone that clearly conveyed that he felt betrayed. Toph could almost understand, being closed off from the outside world.  
"I now understand that I need to be more proactive when ruling the country and not relegating everything to someone else," he told not only them but to himself in conviction.

Mere seconds later, one of the guards received a note from a rushing messenger. Reading the contents quickly, he grabbed the King's attention with a "Sir."

"The generals have been disappearing from their posts. The palace is no longer safe," he explained dutifully, handing the letter to his liege.

"This is impossible...If Long Feng is out of commission, who else could it possibly be?" King Kuei asked no one in particular. Korra herself tried to recall anything from history lessons, but she couldn't remember anything specific. The details were never very explicit.

"We should go to the palace," Mako suggested, voicing Korra's thoughts on the matter. "If it's been compromised, we might be able to find information from any of the occupants. We might even find the master mind," he reasoned to the rest of the team. The original team-minus Toph- looked to Sokka for his input. Looking between his friends, sister, Korra, and Mako, he honestly had no idea why they were staring at him.

"What?" He said with a shrug.

"Well, you're the idea guy," Katara added. Sokka could swear he heard sarcasm in that statement.

"Yeah, Yeah. The plan's fine!" Sokka agreed truthfully. With that said, they all headed back towards the city, Aang conversing with King Kuei.

"Seriously. I'm not just an 'idea guy'. It sounds so demeaning!"

"How about 'field strategist'?" Korra asked as they continued to walk.

"Hmm. That sounds pretty-Wait...That means the same thing!" Sokka complained. Everyone's response was chuckling at his expense.

* * *

"I see you favor the lotus gambit..." Uncle Iroh stated in mild surprise. The young man's opening move was placing the white lotus tile right in the center of the board.  
"Not many still cling the ancient ways..." he added with the hidden greeting. What the young man would say next would prove whether or not he was familiar...

"Those who do can always find a friend," the twenty-something year old that sat across from him responded in earnest.

"I see you are familiar with the Order of the White Lotus," Uncle Iroh inquired after it was now confirmed that this man somehow was familiar with the secret order.

"Yes sir," he replied.

"Please, just call me Uncle" the older man offered in good nature. "Yes...Uncle," the young man hesitated before continuing. Taking another sip of the Jasmine Tea, he began his request.

"I know what I am about to say is very farfetched. But you and the avatar are the only ones I can trust with this information," he started quietly. Uncle nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"I am from seventy years into the future. I was transported here-somehow. I was wondering if it could be the work of spirits," Iroh II explained, taking another sip of tea to calm his nerves.

To the older Iroh's credit, he did not outright reject his claim. "I believe you," Uncle said deliberately.

"You do?" the young general said from his cross legged position at the table. He was curious as to know _why _he believed him.

"It would all add up. Your strange clothing, your dialect, and your _voice_," Uncle said, not at all accusing. "You sound very much like my nephew, and not just in spirit. Your very presence seemed...misplaced in the natural order of things. Though I may not be able to understand this whole situation, I believe there is a spiritual connection to all of this," he finished, spreading his arms wide to show the magnitude of this situation and how little he realized he knew of the capabilities of the spirits. It indeed sounded plausible to him.

"You will definitely require the Avatar's aid," Uncle had confirmed with his arms now resting on his knees.

"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed while entering the kitchen where the two men sat. "You received a royal summons from the palace. They would like to acquire your services this evening," he explained, pointing to the scroll that no doubt contained the relative information. Upon noticing the young man, Zuko half bowed in courtesy. Iroh returned it.

"That is wonderful, Zuko! It is a great honor to have an audience requested by the King himself! And of a humble tea maker!"  
Uncle blinked before realizing he was forgetting someone.

"Say, Luo, would you like to accompany me and my nephew to the palace?" Uncle asked Iroh. Iroh nodded with a smile. There was something off about those three girls he saw earlier at the palace. Maybe he would finally get some answers.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Oh, yeah, some intense fighting here and a case of mistaken identity! Awwwww Yeeaaaaahh!  
_

Iroh, known to the other two travelers as Luo, Uncle, and Zuko had arrived at the side entrance of the palace that they were directed to. What Iroh found strange was that the servant that had guided them into the room held a face of utter calm. And it seemed like a trained mask of apathy. He and Iroh locked eyes only for a second, and their was something calculative in his expression. Iroh kept that in mind, while feeling his now unkempt hair underneath his right hand.

"I'll be by the window," Iroh stated to the older man and his future grandfather. They both nodded in understanding as they prepared the tea for the Earth King and themselves. But the main reason that Iroh did not join them at the table was not only courtesy of him simply being a guest, but that something felt very wrong. He glanced occasionally at the modest table, draped over with a green earth kingdom cloth that the tea was being prepared over. With deft hands, both his grandfather and his Great-Great Uncle finalized the tea making process with ease. Now Iroh could definitely see where his Grandpa got his tea making craftsmanship from.

Thinking back to the odd feeling, he remembered the military training classes. Usually, a servant was left behind with the guests until the liege along with his detail would approach.

That was it.

That was the odd feeling. There were no guards stationed outside the door. It was an ambush. But before he could give the warning, the doors were already in the process of opening. A woman he'd never seen before, maybe about five or six years younger than him, with bangs on either side of her face had entered the room with a full squad of Dai Li agents. Uncle had flicked his eyes over to Iroh and cleared his throat. He was giving the signal that his presence was as of yet unknown. Taking the hint, from his corner in the room, he slid behind the curtains, blending in unnoticed.

"Hello, Uncle," Azula greeted, as though reuniting with family over well, tea. "Brother," she added almost as an afterthought. She knew full well Zuko would be here, but she like to annoy him. Zuko narrowed his eyes dangerously at her.

"Azula. What are you doing here," Zuko demanded, rising from his cushion on the floor, being better prepared to counterattack.

"What's so unbelievable about a girl wanting to meet up with her family?" the girl in question asked, feigning innocence. "If you must know," Azula continued, lazily gesturing a hand towards Zuko to cut off another question, "This is clearly a trap. So will you two come along quietly, or will my Dai Li agents have to subdue you?" she drawled, giving them their ulimatum of the day. Iroh, behind the curtains, continued to remain still. Revealing his position now wouldn't benefit anything. However, he did hear Uncle ask if she knew why he had gained the name, "Dragon of the West". Iroh smiled at that. Uncle, even at his ripe age of one-hundred something, had told him in his childhood. Forcing himself to live back in the present, or past, in Iroh's case, he listened intently.

"I'm not interested in hearing your kooky stories, Uncle," Azula replied offhandedly, clearly not interested. However, his questioned was actually aimed at Zuko, to whom the both of them shared a knowing glance.

Then chaos erupted. With a mighty breath, Uncle had condensed the flame he built up within his jaw and it exploded outward. Zuko followed his lead and kicked the table towards the door that Azula was standing in front of merely half-seconds before. Apparently, she had anticipated an attack. She was already waiting within the hallway. The startled guards had retreated backwards and were now in formation to the sides of Azula. With the coast clear, Iroh jumped out of his hiding spot within the curtains and stood by the door, still out of view from Azula and the Dai Li.

"No, wait here," Iroh commanded firmly to his nephew's son. "You still have the element of surprise. Only join in if Lee is in danger," he concluded before guiding Zuko to the unoccupied side of the hallway.

But Zuko ceased following after Iroh had jumped down to the safety of the streets below.

"ZU-LEE! What are you doing!? We need to get out of here!" he cried, hoping that Zuko would listen. His nephew regarded him from up above before responding.

"I'm tired of running! I am going to face her," he cried back, seriousness etched into his very being.

What an naive boy, thought Iroh sadly. Azula never played the game by the opponent's rules. As honorable as he was, he knew he would challenge Azula to an Agni Kai. Common sense dictates she would brush it off.

"No thanks," Azula replied to Zuko's challenge, as if proving Uncle right. Zuko began to conjure flame and move into action, but the Dai Li made their move quickly.

Iroh would have none of it though.

"Hyah!" the United Forces general bellowed as he leaped from his hiding place to snap a jump kick in the direction of the guards. The impressive flame roared towards them, knocking them off balance and Iroh capitalized on his momentum. Snapping several kicks in a 180 degree fashion, the guards were either incapacitated, or knocked unconscious. This time Azula didn't hold an expression of shock, rather it was anger at another wild card entering her plan, again.

"That's it! I don't care who you are! No more surprises!" Azula shouted in an uncharacteristic bout of displeasure. Performing the necessary movements with her fingers at an impressive speed, she released a continuous stream of lightning at Iroh at an even speedier pace. Iroh barely had time to raise his hands in a deflecting motion to redirect the generated energy. Absorbing the lightning in one hand and redirecting it out of the other, the sheer force of the electricity caused his releasing arm to twitch violently, causing the electricity to move around like a crazed beam of light. It easily sliced the ceiling in half above where he stood.

Azula looked to be only more irritated as Iroh grabbed his left arm in pain. The one that released the electricity.

"I didn't know she was this strong," Iroh muttered, regarding his Great Aunt. He was definitely his grandfather's sister. Iroh clenched his left fist to keep it from cramping and going stiff. Without warning, Azula launched towards him, kicking three times, each one releasing a respective blast of blue flame.

"That's amazing," Iroh said quietly as though under a spell. If only she never went mental, he thought. Taking care to not overuse his left arm, Iroh was able to decently deflect her onslaught of jabs and kicks followed by the fire. Backpedaling to catch a breath, he complimented, "You're pretty good."

Iroh's voice had caught her unawares and she ceased her offensive. "Who are you?" she asked curiously. Now that she got a good look at him, he resembled Zuko, a lot and he sounded just like him. Of course there were slight differences that she could note, such as that the man she was facing had more defined cheek bones and looked to be slightly older.

He almost looked like her father. "We're leaving," Azula told her Dai Li guards after a small pause. Without preamble, the Dai Li had created a hole through the wall through which they committed their strategic withdrawal. Zuko stared through the hole in the wall, as though he could see where Azula went, but he couldn't. She was always elusive when she wanted to be. Then he turned his attention to the man.

"Thank you," Zuko almost struggled to say. He was never one to just accept help from any one, but he knew when he just got rescued the way he did. He took a deep breath before jumping down the window that Uncle had earlier beckoned him to go. Iroh had followed suit. Only problem was that once down to street level again, he noticed that Zuko still stood at the base of the wall.

"Uncle isn't here," Zuko stated matter-of-fact. Iroh figured that the older man must have went to get help.

"I know where he could be," Iroh suggested, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder in a show of camaraderie. He pointed to the sky, drawing the exiled prince's attention to the Bison floating through the air.

"The Avatar?" Zuko's voiced cracked. He knew what the other was suggesting, and he didn't like the idea at all. Iroh nodded nonetheless.

"We'll need his help," referring to the young bender of four elements. "You'll have to settle your differences at some point in time," he added. He was well aware that his little stunt that he pulled to help his grandfather possibly changed history drastically. He hoped it wasn't for the worst.


	15. Chapter 15

Korra, Mako, and team avatar had finally arrived at the palace. However, the courtyard that was present at the base of the steps to the great palace was devoid of commotion. There were no people present, no merchants, no cabbage guy, just the team of young warriors.

"Something tells me this isn't going to go right," Korra offered, first to jump off of the great beast once it landed at the top of the steps. The columned entrance was also dark, the lights having been out for what seemed like a while, from what Korra could tell. She couldn't smell the aroma left behind by a put out lantern.

"These lights have been off for at least a few hours," she stated aloud.

"And they should be on, with it starting to get dark," Sokka added from the saddle. Taking his club with him for good measure, he clambered off of Appa to stand near Korra, who was examining the floor near the put out lanterns.

"I'm not sensing any movement from the area around the other side of the door," Toph commented once she had landed on hard stone floor. Sokka noticed that Korra still seemed to be examining the spaces under the lamps so he came over to check them out also.

"I see it. There's some discoloration on spots under the lamp platforms," Sokka stated formally, also kneeling down to slide a finger across the discoloration. What resulted was a gritty texture, a lot like burnt fabric mixed with drying oil.

"The Dai Li were here," he concluded shortly. Everyone turned their glances towards him.

"How do you know?" Korra asked. She noticed something strange about the spots under the lamps, but she hadn't jumped to a conclusion at all similar to that.

"The fabrics under the lamps. They're green mixed with drying oil, like if you wore a long robe and tried to put out these things," the water tribe boy responded while gesturing towards the aforementioned lamps.

"We should probably get out of here then," Aang suggested, preparing to encourage everyone back on the saddle.

"No need," came a voice along the perimeter of the palace. Out stepped two young men dressed in Earth Kingdom clothing. Both shared a remarkable resemblance, there only differences being that one looked slightly older and lacked the trademark scar of

"Zuko," Katara said both calmly and with a hint of anger. However it was dampened a bit by the strange newcomer. Zuko looked unsure while everyone besides Korra and Mako regarded them with curiosity.

"Okay, Korra, please tell me the new guy is someone you know?" Sokka asked the female Avatar, hoping that Zuko hadn't aquired an equally angry jerk as an ally.

"Um, can't say I do."

"Korra? As in the Avatar?" the mysterious man had asked suddenly.

"How would _he _know that?" Toph questioned rhetorically.

"Wait, what?" Zuko asked aloud. This was news to him. And it sounded outright ridiculous. Aang was the Avatar. Simple as that.

"I'll definitely explain this," his comrade replied almost sheepishly, realizing his slip up. With finally meeting this Korra that he was told about (In the past, no less), it had totally slipped his mind to think twice before he spoke.

"Yeah? Who are you?" Korra asked suspiciously. There was no way anyone except Aang and his friends should have known she was an Avatar.

"I'm General Iroh of the United Forces," the now named man spoke in formal introduction. Everyone had raised eyebrows of different reasons.

"Wait, you're the United Forces general? How did you end up..._here_?" Korra inquired of Iroh. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose trying to make heads or tails of what he was hearing.

"Your name's _Iroh_?" Zuko demanded with a raised voice complete with body gestures that showed he was feeling incredulous. "Are you a distant relative?" Zuko said suddenly, calming down. The idea made him think of his mother. Was he a son of hers? No, that couldn't be right. He would be younger than him, if that was the case. Then could he be...?

Nonetheless, Iroh exhaled softly and put a reassuring hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I am a relative. And I promise I will explain _everything_. But we need to find your Uncle first." He then turned his attention back to Korra and walked up to her to shake her hand.

"I was actually on a Tour of Duty. We heard there was a commotion going on in Republic City, and I was given a request to stand-by for a further instruction by patrols there. Then I ended up here," he explained in a low voice, so that the rest of the large group wouldn't hear what would sound like a weird conversation.

"This is my friend Mako, he ended up here too."

"Honored," Iroh spoke, and Mako nodded in courtesy.

"Aang. Before I can reveal anything to your friends, you and the General Iroh you know of should hear first. Both of you are more attuned to the spirit world and may have some insight to what has happened," Iroh said seriously. Aang listened to all he just said with a concerned expression on his face. Nothing good could come of this if spirits were causing some sort of havoc in the physical realm.

"Okay," Aang replied after thinking. "Guys, I'll be right back. Sokka, can you guys also take Appa to the roof?" he asked. Sokka understood. That way, Appa ad his friends wouldn't attract attention in the evening hours of the night. Iroh regarded Zuko for a moment, who was on Appa's saddle. Interestingly enough, no one was giving him death glares. Everyone was probably too tired to do it anyway. Once Aang's friends, plus Zuko, made it to the roof, Aang turned his attention to Iroh.

"So, what makes you think spirits are involved in anything?"

"Because of the absurdity of what I'm going to tell you," Iroh replied evenly. Touché. Aang nodded seriously.

"Me, Avatar Korra, and her friend, we are all from another plane of existence. But not quite like how the spirit world occupies the same time but different space.."he began. Aang listened intently for what he would say next.

"We are from the same space but different time. The future. Seventy years into it to be exact."

* * *

Ty Lee kept pointing worrying glances at Azula, who seemed to be meditating in front of the fire that burned in a large pot-like structure. Mai wasn't really concerned in the least, or at least that's what you could assume. She didn't think that the past two days would be cause for much worrying of Azula, so she casually filed her nails on a chair a small distance from the flame. Azula herself continued to sit there, eyes closed, apparently thinking of something.

"Azula, are you thinking of what happened at the Drill?" she asked in a concerned tone of voice. She knew that her plan was foiled early in the process, which was strange in itself of course, but she did not think she would take it this hard.

"No Ty Lee. That doesn't matter. My brother escaped and this time, he had unexpected help. He looked to be a distant relative." Mai glanced up momentarily at the mention of Zuko.

"You said a distant relative? How is that?" From Mai, it could be counted as sarcasm, but both Azula and Ty Lee knew it was a serious question she was posing.

"I'm not sure..." Azula admitted after a while. Thinking it over and over again, she could only conclude two things. He could be a removed cousin or something, but that sounded highly implausible and ridiculous.

"It could be...Lu Ten," Azula had said, not convinced completely, but it was possible. He looked enough like the family, and her father considered himself above sleeping around. Illegitimate sons would only threaten the throne, he explained to her and Zuko.

Ty Lee and Mai glanced at each other questioningly. They only ever remembered seeing Lu Ten when they were much younger.

"We're going to do one more mission. This time, we will capture Zuko of course. But we will need either the strange Water tribe girl," Azula began, everyone present knowing she was referring to the one who defied many natural laws by bending fire along with water,"and her friend," she concluded quietly.

"You like him, don't you?"

The random question posed by Ty Lee left Azula speechless.

"W-what? No! Why do you keep assuming that?" Ty Lee simply shrugged before getting up to make some tea for the three of them.

* * *

**A hidden Equalist Bunker**

This was the work of a professional, Amon thought idly. The shredded metals contained no chemicals on the outside. No thermite, no excess carbon compounds, just the shredded metal and baffled scientists.

"It is simply impossible for the Avatar to have performed this on her own," Amon stated in monotone. Placing his crossed hands in fron of his masked face to which he rested his chin on.

The Lieutenant stood dutifully at attention and asked,

"What would you have us do?"

Amon stood up after a moment of pondering. "No worries this time around. I'll research this myself," Amon replied. Walking over to the wreckage that the scientists had concluded their study on, Amon searched through the mess of metal as though looking for a specific piece. And just on cue, he spotted a still heated piece of metal. Still a little hot, but comfortable enough in his gloved hand.

"Perhaps there is something we can gain from studying this. There had to be something on this metal fragment. It was still hot and that would mean still slightly active chemicals. Placing it under a microscope at the now abandoned research table, he placed it under the magnifying scope.

"Anything?" he heard his Lieutenant question. Amon sighed inaudibly.

"Noth-"

"Sir?" the Lieutenant questioned again. But this time not to ask if evidence were present, but if Amon was present. He just dissapeared. No flash of light, nothing but the fact that he vanished as quickly as he was just here a mere second ago. The other equalist soldiers had noticed the spectacle and Amon had given the Lietuenant de facto authority in situations like this. Until he returned, and they would make sure to search for him, he would be temporary leader.

"Gentlemen, we're organizing a search party," he said aloud.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Omg,I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait! We had just updated to Wi-Fi and before that, the internet was cut off for a small bit! Thank you for your patience!_

Amon couldn't quite place the feeling, but it was horrible and disconcerting. It brought his mind back to the days of his childhood, forced to learn the ways of bloodbending...

But thinking back to those times would do him no good, or he may never find the strength to push himself off of the ground where he lay. Unconsciously, he glided a hand towards his face. Before it made contact with flesh however, it touched the mask. He took a deep, calming breath. He wasn't quite sure yet himself, but the mask was like a shield, not only physically for obvious reasons, but mentally, spiritually. It helped him keep his focus, something that was like a security for his identity. With the mask _on, _he felt free. Moving his head from left to right, the hood that covered the upper portion of his head swished with the movement. He could hear the clacking noise of a cart and the footsteps of civilians. Picking himself up off the ground, he casually brushed himself off whilst analyzing his surroundings. He apparently did not attract too much attention as the whole of the street looked to be uncrowded.

"Clearly my plans will have to wait. I need to figure out where I am," he said to himself, continuing to watch the area. He crossed his hands behind his back as he made his way to the nearest bar or whatever passed for one in the area.

* * *

"The Fut-!" Aang stopped himself and took care to watch his voice volume. "Seventy years into the _future_?" he asked harshly. His face betrayed all the confusion he was feeling. He was the Avatar and he'd seen his share of supposedly impossible things. But this was just too much!

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to brush off his explanation. It was as though something about his story was plausible, even possible. Yup, it had to be spirits. But which one could it be? He was confident that there were no spirits that could possibly play with the very concept of time.

The young man that stood before him, about ten years his senior simply nodded slowly. "It's the truth. My way of life is similar but drastically different from here. Technology beyond this time frame, different cultures..." Iroh seemed to be remembering something, as his eyes became slightly unfocused, but he turned his attention back to the monk.

"I'm sorry, but I can't reveal anything specific. We need to find Zuko's Uncle. He may also be able to assist. He is attuned to the spirit world as well."

* * *

"So uh, Zuko here...", he began awkwardly. The young man in question ran a hand through his now short but growing hair. Everyone looked apprehensive except Toph, who hadn't really ran into him before.

"Look, I...was doing a new start here with my Unlce in Ba Sing Se, I had no idea at first that you guys were here," he explained quickly before Katara could cut him off.

"It's strangely convenient that you got here before us," Katara accussed, obviously disregarding what he had just said. Zuko couldn't effectively argue with that logic, but he pressed on anyway.

"I had no idea any of you would be here...Look..." Zuko sighed, removing his hand from his hair. "I've given up on chasing you guys down." Everyone was silent, waiting for what he would say next. Apparently they were giving him a chance to explain.

"Uncle and I were planning to make a living here. The war has messed a lot of things up for both me and him," he added. Mentioning that the war hurting him personally was hard for him to say initially, but he needed them to know that he was sincere. After everything that happened, capturing the avatar wouldn't do any one any good.

"It's just hard to believe that you would just give up after everything you've done," Katara responded while unconsciously touching her necklace. Zuko had noticed and still felt guilty about the whole pirate incident.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said quietly, but loud enough for the rest of the group atop the roof present. "For everything. There's some things that you guys need to know, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet." With that, Zuko made his way down the roof to speak with General Iroh. Right thing or not, he knew that trying to please his father any longer was no longer an option.

* * *

With Aang and Iroh II just concluding their discussion, Zuko appeared to them just in time.

"Avatar," Zuko said, prompting Aang to turn to him. "About what you said in the forest before," he continued.

"Yeah," Aang confirmed. He remembered the one-sided conversation. He asked Zuko if they could ever be friends.

"I don't know if this is the right choice for me, but I can't think of a better option...I want to join your group," Zuko explained. Iroh looked on passively. Even though this changed things drastically, perhaps it would be for the better. His Grandfather was looking angrily down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Aang. The young boy in question looked down at the floor also, but he was thinking of what Zuko said.

"That's great news," Aang finally answered. Zuko looked up at him, but Aang wasn't finished. "But I'll have to ask the rest of my friends."


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N:Okay, I will try my best for an extended chapter! Also, Katara isn't as aggressive towards Zuko because the Catacombs scene hasn't happened yet. _

"What do you think, Sokka?" Aang asked the Water Tribe teenager. The teen shrugged his shoulders in natural aloofness.

"Hey, you do need a firebending master at some point. What are the odds of finding many out there?" Sokka testified, supporting the suggestion of Zuko joining the crew. Zuko lifted his gaze from the floor at hearing the positive reaction.

"Toph?"

Toph didn't immediately respond to Aang's question, looking off in some unspecified direction, but it was evident that she heard.

"Well, I don't really have a grudge against him since I don't know him, so...I don't care!" The young earthbender explained with a shrug. Zuko half-smiled at Toph's objective evaluation, but his grin faded because the heaviest opinion, perhaps the most important would be Katara's reaction.

"And...Katara?" Aang finally asked. Zuko could tell that Katara's answer would hold a lot of weight. Honestly, he didn't expect her to argee. She had her eyes closed and she exhaled almost inaudibly, but it was enough show of emotion that she wasn't particularly pleased.

"I'm still upset about the pirate incident," she admitted.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said again. He was sincere, but he felt as though it was kind of a dry response. Katara seemed to think on it though.

"I would probably regret it if I was against this. And Sokka's right. Aang does need a firebending teacher."

"I told you my opinion matters, Toph!" Sokka input quite smugly, crossing his arms in an air of superiority. Toph showed just how much she cared by carelessly tossing a rock at the back of his head.

"Whatever," the earthbender said nonchalantly, earning a irritated glare from Sokka.

"Fine. But don't think i'll trust you as quickly as the rest of us," Katara warned with a deadly finger point. Zuko sighed in relief that he was essentially, a member of the group now. Even though it wasn't even his choice to begin with, maybe he could get used to the change in circumstance.

"Thank you. All of you," Zuko said confidently but with humility. He did a customary fire nation bow to Aang, who returned it in kind.

"Don't worry guys. I'm a firebender too. Everyone has the potential for change," Mako put in helpfully. Everyone listened but did not comment. There wasn't much to be said in response to that. Iroh II then decided itwas time they retired for the night.

"The hard part about telling the Earth King of the war is over, at least. We can get set to leave in the morning," Sokka said with a yawn. He slowly made his way back up to the Bison's saddle. "Let's crash back at the house before we all fall asleep mid flight."

* * *

It was the next morning, and the whole crew had returned to the palace to give their farewells to the Earth King.

"Now that we're all rested, I know where we can go to find my Uncle." Pointing to the middle ring, he studied the distance from where they stood.

"Most likely, we can check in and around the Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop." Sokka nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Yeah, that could work. Your uncle does love his tea," he stated objectively, also looking in the direction that Zuko was pointing. Everyone else did not disagree, so they filed back onto Appa.

"Sir, there are three female warriors here to see you. They are from the Island of Kyoshi," General How reported to King Kuei. He just walked into the courtyard having just recieved the three women. Sokka, who was in the process of climbing Appa, overheard and shouted "That's Suki!" In his attempt to get off of Appa quickly, Sokka lost his grip on the reigns and fell hard on his rear, prompting a pained grunt from him.

"You know these warriors?" Kuei asked, taking a few steps closer to Sokka.

The teenager attemped to gather his bearings after massaging his raspberry. Rising quickly, he confirmed the King's presumption.

"Oh, yeah," he responded confidently. "The Kyoshi warriors are a skilled group of fighters. Trustworthy, too. They're good friends of ours!" Sokka concluded with a confident fist pump. The king nodded with a smile, his guards and General How standing dutifully a distance behind him.

"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests." With that, the king turned to leave and the officers turned to follow him. Mako watched them go and Sokka cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Now that we have all the stuff we need, before we split up, we can go pick up angry jerk's uncle-No offence," Sokka added, glancing at Zuko.

"None taken...I guess..." The fire nation's prince replied, unsure of what to make of the nickname.

"After that, we can all go do our thing, and Aang will be able to master the Avatar State!" Sokka said confidently, holding the scrolls that were picked up from the Grand Secretatiat's office.

* * *

Even with the few minutes that would quickly be used to reach the Tea Shop, Zuko attempted to get just amoment of shut eye. Last night and the days before were taking a lot out of him, and he was beginning to feel as though he was coming down with something.

However, his dream had abruptly awoken him, and sleep seemed to be unwelcoming for at least another few hours. His sudden movement went unnoticed by everyone but Katara. Everyone else sat closer to the front either talking with eachother or admiring the scenery. Katara nearly jumped when Zuko shot up from his leaning position at the back of the saddle. She was ready to give him a reprimand for surprising her like that until she saw him reach for his own face, and touch the scar, as though upset to find that it was still there. Katara's annoyance evaporated quickly to see Zuko, the one who chased them for so long, look so vulnerable.

"What had happened to cause that?" Katara said after a slight hesitation to even ask at all. She always had assumed it was unfortunate accident that he suffered in war. Zuko glanced at her momentarily before turning his gaze to the saddle's surface.

"My father. He decided to teach me a permanant lesson."

From any response, she hadn't expected an answer like that. Him being a prince and all, she had assumed that his relationship with his father was cordial, at least. Now she understood why Zuko explained he wasn't ready to talk about it to anyone. His own father didn't even respect him.

"I had lost my mother to the war," she offered, if anything, to let him know that he wasn't alone in dealing with the loss of something.

"That's something we have in common."

Again, Katara wasn't expecting such an answer. Zuko really did have a lot to talk about when he was ready.

"About that injury. I can probably heal it," she offered quietly.

"It's a scar. It can't heal," Zuko responded. He didn't believe there was any solution she had that could possibly get rid of the mark on his face. But Katara persisted, explaining that it was a healing water from the Spirit Oasis.

"It has special properties," she clarified, while at the same time revealing a necklace that held a vial full of a glowing water. He had to admit that he'd never seen water such as that.

"Maybe later," Zuko relented, seeing a small hope in that mysterious water. "But, we're here."

* * *

King Kuei stood at the prepared podium, witha line of guards flanking either side of him as he prepared to recieve the honored guests.

"In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies," Kuei began. The three warriors had just reached the summit and bowed in respect.

"The Kyoshi Warriors!" The Earth King concluded happily, raising his arms and showing they would not need to bow before him. Three girls slowly raised their heads. The lead girl had bangs on either side of her face.

"We are the Earth King's humble servants," she said in a smooth drawl. Anyone who knew her enough would know that her claim was laced with sarcasm.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Next Chapter Activate!_

_Jokermask18: Dude, please tell me this won't be Zutara._

_Lol! That was not my intention at all! xD That exchange was simply bringing up the possible healing of Zuko's scar. Thanks for your review!_

_Also, regarding Amon, there is a spoiler here in relation to his unmasking, so if you hadn't seen the last two episodes, I suggest you go online or something and watch it. Finding out here will be anti-climactic, and you'll probably dislike me for a few hours. Other than that, enjoy!_

* * *

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted. The Tea Shop was dim from the lack of light from the lanterns that were not lit. Zuko looked to his left then right before dropping his head.

"He's not-" Zuko paused midsentence when he heard some clattering noises from the upstairs bedroom.

"Nephew!" His Uncle bellowed. Zuko couldn't find the words to respond, so he just settled with "Uncle!"

"Zuko, I was just on my way to find you! I feared you were captured," he explained, pulling Zuko into an impressive bear hug.

"It's okay, Uncle," The young man managed through a short breath, struggling to keep air in his lungs. Iroh released the hug and Zuko laughed while holding his now sore side.

"I see you have brought friends with you," his Uncle began, noticing the amused children in the dining area of the teashop. Zuko glanced behind him and waved them over to the space where he and his uncle stood. One by one, they filed in until they all stood behind the counter.

"I've decided to join the Avatar," Zuko announced. He had noticed the look of suprise on his uncle's face before it softened into a kindly smile.

"Nephew, I am so, so proud of you!" he replied strongly, Zuko once again the victim of a bear hug. This elicited a few laughs from the group, reminding Uncle Iroh that there were guests present. Looking over all of them, his eyes rested on the younger gentleman that resembled his nephew in many ways.

"I anticipate that there is much you want me to know. Allow me to prepare some tea for us all."

* * *

As the citizens moved back and forth through the entrance to the tavern, Amon's thoughts were behaving similarly, wondering if he should remove his mask or keep it on. He thought on it for a moment before deciding to remove it and place it within his jacket. If his sudden appearance here, and into what he suspected was the past, was any indication, he could not risk Avatar Korra or her allies recognizing him under his mask if they were similarly transported here. His voice would be a dead giveaway. Now it was time for him to strategize. If clues that he perceived were correct, he was in Ba Sing Se. And everything looked...dated, in a word. And sparing a glance at the palace in the distance, something was off, but he couldn't deduce what. He would need to explore thetown a bit and see if he could pick up anything from what he was feeling.

* * *

"And that's how we ended up here," Sokka concluded. Everyone present was comfortably seated and Uncle Iroh, who sat across from them sipped in silence before exhaling calmly, looking ever more the wise-man.

"You are a brave set of young ones. While your plan is well thought out and your courage, all of you, is admirable...I am afraid there are more pressing matters," the old general said sadly, calmly taking another sip.

"What do you mean, sir?" Katara inquired, taking a small sip of her own tea. They had told him about their plans to bring in the Earth King's support in the war against the fire nation, but omitted the details that they were waiting for the day of black sun. That would be explained later, but the seasoned general's cryptics statement unnerved her and the rest of Team Avatar.

"Azula is here," Zuko chipped in, voicing what Uncle Iroh would have said. To Sokka's credit, he didn't look nearly as surprised as he suspected he would.

"Yeah, we saw her. But we took care of it, team avatar style!" Sokka boasted, performing some strange move with his hands, as if bending an element.

"I think that we have not seen the last of my neice in Ba Sing Se."

Iroh's proclamation sobered everyone, and they perked their ears for what he would say next.

"The last time my nephew and I faced her, she was in charge of a unit of Dai Li agents," he stated.

"What?"

From Toph's shout of surprise, he could confirm that he and Zuko faced her after Aang and his friends. Korra suddenly stood up, clenching a fist in an open palm.

"Then let's go take her down! if she's in control of the Dai Li, she must be planning a coup!"

"An admirable, but useless gesture at this point. There are simply too many soldiers no doubt en route to this city, to effectively hold it against the fire nation at this point." Uncle Iroh took another sip of tea. The younger man that carried on his name decided it time to finally come clean with some information.

"Uncle Iroh," he said respectfully. "If I could talk to you in private for a moment? And Aang, too?" he asked respectfully, with a bow. Uncle simply raised his own cup to his lips, taking a final sip of tea. Aang simply nodded, noting the seriousness of the situation.

"Certainly. Zuko, if any of you need anything, I will be in the next room." And with that, both Irohs retreated farther into another room. After the door closed, Sokka spoke up.

"Azula's taen control of the _Dai Li_?" he piped up. Sure, Azula seemed to do some crazy stuff, and it seemed like she was psychic with how she always was fifty steps ahead of anyone, but _this _was ridiculous.

"I don't know how she managed it either. One minute, me and uncle were guests at one of the Earth King's guest houses, next we were surruonded by the Dai Li and my sister," Zuko said soberly. He hoped this war would end one day. He didn't know why, but he was starting to feel disillusioned with what he thought was honor for his nation.

"We should just keep going and come back after a force is built up," Mako suggested. "We could rescue the king at least," he added after seeing Katara's despairing look. "It's what the council of five would want. The people within the city, even though this is the fire nation, they would be fine for now. As long as the king is out of danger, we can always come back and liberate the city when we have the power."

Korra sat back down dissapointed. Even though Mako was right, she still felt she owed Azula for locking Mako up.

"Fine. But where do we go, now?"

"Well, I might need more spirit water. I heard there was some in Ba Sing Se, but I don't know where..." Katara chipped in, fingering the vial that contained what little water she had.

"I believe I could be of assistance," the now present Uncle said. General Iroh and Aang entered the room behind him.

"There are accounts of an old Ba Sing Se hidden under the city we now stand in. Toph can be of great help here," he said, looking to her.

"Sure thing, Gramps," she agreed with a nod and standing up. When Toph met Uncle the first time, they had become good friends and Uncle became like sort of an...Uncle to her. So he was aware of her seismic sense. "So where to?"

"We will need to find an area with a mass of crystals. The Earth catacombs. The property of the water there is said to contain much spiritual innfluence. That is the original Ba Sing Se."

_A/N: I know, not much action, but the next chapter will be chock full of it! And Zuko's destiny approaches! 'Till next time._


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: ... I really apologize for this long wait. I was studying for and just finished my College Math Placement Exam. I'm back now, though. :^D_

* * *

The flight to what was supposedly a hidden underground city was taking a bit longer than expected. The shore was finally in view, an impressive bank of sand adjacent to idly shifting waters.

"General Iroh? I don't see anything," Sokka deadpanned. A hand was lazily resting on his forehead in a mock salute to block the rays of the sun. Appa slowly made his descent, And still, there was nothing except sand, rock, and water.

"A wall is only a layer to mask the unseen," Uncle said sagely, causing Sokka to frown.

"Uh, what?"

"He's saying it's underground, Snoozles," Toph declared as she slid off of the Bison. Once making landfall, she felt around the ground, letting her atunement to the earth let her senses flow through the ground.

"I knew that!" Sokka defended. It was one thing for him not to understand some proverbs. But for Toph to be the one to correct him! That was just not cool.

"Whatever," Toph said offhandedly. The rest of the gang disembarked from Appa's saddle and followed behind the Earthbender girl.

"Here!" she declared, spreading her arms apart as though opening an invisible door. The beach head suddenly shifted, and a manhole appeared, complete with a ladder and underground cavern.

"Appa, find someplace to stay hidden," Aang encouraged. The great Bison nodded it's large head in understanding. It gave the Airbender a lick before flying to a hidden plateau among the cliff faces.

"This place seems similar to the place where the Dai Li hid out," Sokka remarked as they all began to climb through.

"Indeed. The passageways are quite adjacent to that area-Oh-!"

"Uncle? Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes. I simply need to get back in shape," Zuko's Uncle remarked, eliciting laughs from the rest of the group.

Once making it to ground level, the team made their way through a side entrance. Fortunately, the Dai Li were not nearby, so it was simple to traverse the tunnels before they made it to a more cavernous entry-way.

"Guys, there's something over here," Korra said aloud, then gestured to Mako. "Check this out, it looks hallow here," she explained, rapping a knuckle on the surface. True enough, sound seemed to travel forward before actually ceasing. Without warning, Korra double punched the rock wall as though pushing with her fists, and the wall collapsed, revealing a tunnel.

"Sweet!" Toph appraised Korra's handiwork, walking right into the tunnel sans much caution.

"Thanks!" Korra answered, following behind the Master Earthbender, with Mako trailing right behind.

"For someone from the water tribe, she seems very "earthbender-y"," Aang remarked to Mako in a low voice. The older teen laughed silently.

"I guess you could say that," Mako said. "Matter of fact, before I first met her, she wrecked the whole city while stopping a gang."

"She wrecked a whole city?" Aang asked incredulously. Mako only shrugged good-naturedly.

"She'll have to tell you about it."

"Woah," Zuko's observation returned Aang and Mako's attention forwards. The two echoed Zuko's statement, looking around at their new surroundings.

"This has to be Old Ba Sing Se," Katara assessed as she kneeled down to examine crystal stalagmites jutting up from the ground. The whole area seemed to have a calming effect, especially upon seeing the two huge reflection pools that lay situated adjacent to each other.

"Yes," Uncle Iroh confirmed, gazing at the expanse of crystals and water with restrained awe. "This is the original setting upon which Ba Sing Se was built." His gaze turned to Katara who was now listening to him with rapt attention. "The water here would have spiritual properties because of the vast history of this place."

"That's great!" Katara responded with enthusiasm, making her way toward the reflection pool along with Aang. Iroh noticed Zuko's brooding expression and how he was tentatively touching the scar on his face.

"What troubles you nephew?" Uncle queried, sitting down and crossing his legs. Zuko sat down next to him and was silent for a moment save a few breaths.

"Katara says she can probably heal my scar..." Zuko began. He exhaled in defeat. "I don't know if it deserves to be healed," he added quietly, his gaze staring through the ground. Uncle Iroh grunted in acknowledgement.

"Zuko," he said. His nephew turned to him after hesitation, looking him in the eye. "If it can be done, I say go for it. No matter how you may feel, you did not deserve that scar."

Zuko was appreciative of the encouragement, but he did not feel yet convinced. "I still feel as though it's a reminder," Zuko admitted. "Until I can regain my honor-"

"Zuko..."

"I know. I know that I don't earn it from father, it's just-"

"Zuko," Uncle interrupted. Zuko fell silent and regarded his uncle a bit sheepishly. "I meant that you never lost your honor to begin with."

"I-I don't understand," Zuko confessed, running a hand through his tousled hair. Uncle nodded, knowing that his nephew must feel conlicted.

"I will give you this advice. What is Honor? Not your father or your sister's definition. It's an answer you must pull from within yourself, and find out what is _right_," Iroh said, resting a hand on his nephew's shoulder before standing up.

"Thank you," Zuko said, standing up, "Uncle."

"Anytime nephew."

At the conclusion of their heart to heart chat, Aang and Katara had returned from their trip to the reflection pool, and the waterbender showed the vial to Zuko.

"I think it can work," Aang said to Zuko, approving of the idea. Zuko glanced at Uncle Iroh, who only smiled in silent encouragement.

"Okay," Zuko said after what seemed like several moments. "I'll do it."


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: ... Sorry for another long wait. I'm in College now! University of Maryland! Go Terps! So yeah, anyway, here's the next chapter!_

* * *

Iroh along with his ancestor of the same name watched in awe along with the rest of Team Avatar as Katara prepared to use the spirit water. Zuko took a deep breath through his nose, both in anticipation and nervousness. He had doubts if it would even work, but he knew better. Better to try and fail then to never try at all. That was the story of his life, after all.

"I don't know how this will feel...I've never tried to heal a scar before," Katara pointed out as she opened the now refilled vial.

_Well that's encouraging, _Zuko thought bitterly. "You'll never know until you try." Zuko closed his eyes so he wouldn't see the water coming at his face. Seconds passed by before he heard her mutter "Well, here goes..."

"Now that I think about it, It's going be kind of awkward to see a Zuko without a scar," Sokka muttered to Aang.

"Why is that?"

"I dunno. Can't really imagine his face being symmetrical," Sokka whispered back to Aang, sounding totally objective. He blinked when Aang began to snort.

"What?"

"Nothing, Sokka," Aang muttered with a cough.

When the water made contact with the scarred side of his face, to his disappointment, he didn't feel anything. Which he felt shouldn't have surprised him. It was a scar, after all.

"I'ts not working," Zuko noted, his eyes still remained closed.

"Hold on, there's still another layer to get through," Katara whispered in a rush, her hands palmed one over the other in front of Zuko's scarred area of flesh. The water was glowing an ethereal hue and seemed to be evaporating into the burnt skin.

Zuko was about to repeat his complaint before the unexpected assaulted his senses.

Lots of pain on the left side of his face.

"Augh!" Zuko shouted in surprise, pivoting sideways and falling on his knees. Iroh rushed over to his side to steady his grandfather.

"Zuko, you alright?"

The boy in question began to laugh quietly.

"It's gone!" Zuko exclaimed. Iroh raised his brows in surprise, atanding back to allow space for Zuko to stand. As he stood, his back was to the gaang, his hand apparently resting on his face. He turned around and-

"Woah," Sokka observed with one raised brow.

"What?" Zuko demanded. "Is something still there?"

"No, no, no...Your face is all healed up," Sokka assured. "It's just..." The water tribe warrior looked between Zuko and Iroh. "Talk about family resemblance..." he clarified, noting the striking similarities between Iroh and Zuko.

While the both of them looked almost like mirror images, Iroh looked to have a slightly leaner build and a more intense (if that was possible) face. Had to be the eyebrows, Sokka observed.

"That is interesting," Uncle agreed with a hand to his chin.

_Am I the only one that sees that Zuko has only one eyebrow?, _Sokka contemplated.

"You promised you would tell me who you were," Zuko reminded the United Forces General, who nodded once in acknowledgement.

"Well," he began. "I'm your grandson."

Sokka could swear music had abruptly halted somewhere. Everyone's eyes were wide (minus Toph) until Korra burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry!" Korra managed between laughs, "This is just too cute!"

Both Iroh and Zuko's faces flushed and the two awkwardly rubbed their necks simultaneously.

"Anyway," Mako said sarcastically, "We need to get out of here," he suggested, looking over everyone.

"He's right. I still need to get to the Guru at the Eastern Air Temple," Aang added.

"Then it's settled," the young Iroh declared. "We need to get going. The princess may already be aware of these catacombs."

"Poignant observation!" a female voice called from the other side of the impressively large cavern.

"Well, well, if it isn't princess breeches!" Korra retorted with crossed arms. Toph tried and failed to restrain her laughter, and Azula simply raised an unamused brow.

"Careful, Korra. I've fought her, she's tough," Iroh II said in a low voice. Korra brushed off the caution with a snort.

"I fought her too, and i'm also dangerous!" she replied haughtily. Iroh II had half a mind to facepalm, but rather, he nodded and took up a defensive stance next to her.

"You may have caught me off guard last time, Avatar," Azula said coolly, looking pointedly at Korra. The water tribe Avatar scowled in response.

"I don't know how there are two Avatars, but i'm taking the both of you and the rest of your gang in," she declared, entering into a fighting stance. To the team's surprise however, Dai Li agents materialized through the cavernous floor and walls. The fire nation soldiers had earthbending reinforcements in this skirmish.

The rest of the small team of resistance fighters took up a defensive perimeter, making sure to keep the only available entrance covered.

"Well, Zuko, didn't think you'd turn traitor so soon," Azula commented sarcastically, but then she froze momentarily.

"Your face..."

"I had to make a choice, Azula," Zuko said shortly. "I think I made the right choice."

"You have a habit of making bad decisions!" Azula shouted in anger.

Zuko was thrown off by her out of character response and barely managed to evade burning blue flames careening past his face.

From there, the setting erupted into chaos as Aang, Katara, and Sokka engaged the fire nation soldiers, while Mako and Toph handled the Dai Li agents. Korra and Zuko confronted Azula and a Dai Li agent on either side of her.

**A/N:** I'm sorry, I had to end that chapter there. It has been a while and I haven't updated. I apologize. I know this chapter isn't my best. Lot of college work, it gets tiring some times. Anyhow, I will try my best to update another chapter within the week and it will be of better quality. Thanks.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: ...I still need more suggestions on what can happen next! Thanks! And keep reviewing please!_

"Ready for a rematch, princess?" Korra chided with a half-smile. Azula replied with a spinning kick, using her torque to force blue flame at the water-tribe Avatar.

"Someone's a little snarky this afternoon," Korra mumbled, whilst spinning in an evading direction. Azula merely snarled and advanced on her with two fingers pointed.

"Korra! Watch out!" Iroh II warned, twisting in front and redirecting the barrage of discharge.

Iroh II was prepared and managed to shoot the lightning out of his opposite hand to travel harmlessly through the ground.

Korra sighed in exhaustion without dropping her guard.

"Someone really needs to teach me how to do that!"

The battle continued and more Dai Li agents seemed to be pouring into the room from every which direction. The new arrivals converged on Korra, blocking her off from assisting Iroh II.

"Now it's just us two," Azula observed, her stance in preparation for another attack.

"Who are you?" she continued, the two beginning to circle each other.

"Uh, you might not want to know. You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Iroh II replied, mirroring Azula's stance.

"Well I know that you're a relative," Azula retorted, executing a leg sweep that produced a sheet of flame on the ground. Iroh made a motion as though stomping the ground, halting the flame and dissipating it.

"Okay..." Iroh muttered, stepping back to increase the distance. _She's more observant than I thought._

"If you let us go, we can all talk this out, professionally-"

"I don't think so, my father will want to speak to you," Azula interrupted snapping a palm forward, releasing blue flame, knocking the young Iroh backwards several feet to land on his back. Before Azula could capitalize, Iroh used a spinning technique reminiscent of breakdancing to land on his feet. He kicked forward, but Azula ducked and swiped at his feet. He nearly fell forward, and Azula quickly grabbed his arms and put them into a lock behind his back, a flame dagger at his throat.

The whole cavern full of combatants seemed to freeze. The Dai Li seemed to realize they had leverage and backed off to protect the princess.

"Now, if anyone moves, this one gets a scar to replace Zuko's."

Zuko stepped forward dangerously. "You wouldn't...!"

"Try me, brother! I dare you!"

The dishonored prince balled his fists but did not move. Would Azula really do that? Was she as cruel as father? What unnerved him, was that at this very moment, he didn't know. And he wasn't going to try to find out now.

He relaxed his hands and dropped his head in guilt.

"Very good Zuzu," Azula appraised sarcastically. She turned her head to the nearest Dai Li general.

"Arrest them!"

The Dai Li general nodded, and repeated the gesture to his subordinates. They paced forward, but then Aang suddenly encased the group in Crystal.

Iroh was passed on to a Dai Li who had cuffed him with earthbent binds. And he knew what was about to happen.

"Oh no, Aang," the young general muttered. "Don't do it, not now."

"What's going on? Aang, what are you doing?" Sokka asked in a rush. Katara kneeled next to Aang and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Zuko was silent as he examined the crystal shield that surrounded them.

"I'm doing what I should have done weeks ago."

"Aang," Korra interjected, "you're not about to do what I think you're about to do...are you?" Aang regarded her objectively before entering a meditative stance. She looked to Mako, who shrugged helplessly.

"This isn't exactly the situation I wanted to see this...", Korra complained silently.

"This is the chance i'd been waiting for," Azula said, in spite of the awe of the moment. Aang slowly began to ascend into the air, eyes and tattoos glowing brightly.

"Azula! You can't!" the young Iroh shouted desperately. The older Iroh, inside the crystal shield could only hope things did not turn sour from here on.

Everyone watched in awe at the sight, but then it was cut short. Iroh II saw what Azula was doing, and he tried his best to reach Aang's ears with a warning. But it seemed to happen in half a second.

One moment, Aang seemed to be activating the Avatar State, the next, he was suddenly jerking from electrocution, falling towards the ground with smoke trailing from his back.

Iroh knew this was a delicate situation. They would have to leave him with the enemy, and he understood. Aang was in danger and they had to him out.

"Go!" Iroh yelled, encouraging them to get past their hesitance in trying to get to him. Appa flew off, and it was just him and the Dai Li and his Great Aunt Azula.

He's had worse days.

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai was seated on his throne, in the midst of a war meeting when the messenger arrived.

"What is it?" Ozai requested. The messenger bowed in respect before he spoke.

"It's from Princess Azula, sir. She comes with good news. The Avatar has been killed, and that a prisoner has been acquired."

Ozai nodded in satisfaction. His daughter did not disappoint.

"This war meeting is postponed until tomorrow. This council is adjourned," Ozai dismissed. The messenger remained and handed the scroll to him before departing.

"A...relative?" Ozai repeated a line in the scroll in confusion.

_A/N: Okay, I know this chapter probably went by fast. I was thinking hard abuot the content of the chapter, and I need to upload _something_, so I went ahead and posted it. Please have patience with me, the next chapters will be much better in delivery. _


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: ...I still need more suggestions on what can happen next! Thanks! And keep reviewing please! Seriously! I need some more suggestions! NatNicole came up with an awesome idea and I will try to implement it in some way later on. Enjoy the Chapter!_

The air was stale here as he walked through the deserted street. Amon examined the entrances he passed, aloofly. Many of the houses and facilities were closed or boarded up. Which was strange to see in a large city that was bustling with activity only an hour ago.

"I know you're there," Amon stated after a pause. "Five of you."

True to his seeming clairvoyance, five Dai Li agents materialized from a small distance.

"You are required to come with us," the boldest of the agents ordered. They were slightly unnerved by this stranger's awareness. The fact that he wore a mask only increased the enigma.

"I think not. All five of you will withdraw. I am not in the mood to be merciful today," Amon warned evenly, without moving. His back still turned to the group of benders, they hesitantly caught each other's glances before slowly pacing toward the man.

Their target's shoulders rose then fell as though in exasperation. He turned around delibrately, enough for the agents to see his mask. To at least one of them, it was annoying to see a mocking smile as a mask. He launched forward, a rock fist flinging from his open palm, in an attempt to cuff Amon. The other four followed suit, eight earthen palms rocketing towards him.

Calmly walking toward them, he leaned just so, evading the multiple palms as though he were cracking his neck of kinks. Once nearing the closest Dai Li, Amon launched forwad into a sprint, lunging at him. He attempted to entrap the stranger with a column of earth, but it was too late before he realized.

He also did not realize immediately that It'd be perhaps the last time he'd earthbend.

Amon had pivoted behind him and launched his knee at the other's, causing him to fall to his knees.

The remaining four agents saw their comrade lose consciousness simply from a touch.

"His bending is gone. Forever. Anyone else feeling belligerent, today?"

The Dai Li acted quickly. They retrieved their fallen partner and retreated quickly back into the shadows, dissapearing somewhere through hidden pathways and underground tunneling.

Without a word, Amon continued on his way.

* * *

It had been at least a half hour, and the Dai Li passed on Iroh to the Fire Nation soldiers. From there, they would bring him aboard Azula's personal warship.

The ships were more impressive in person than from the archaic early age photographs in the historical textbooks.

"Amazing," Iroh commented to himself.

"Isn't it?" Azula said idly. Iroh said nothing as the guards roughly pushed him forward up the boarding ramp.

"Chill out, back there!" Iroh demanded, glaring dangerously at the guards. Almost reflexively they froze and let go of him.

"What are you idiots waiting for! Put him in the brig!" Azula ordered with a point towards the holding area.

"Ah...of course, Princess," the lead guard replied hesitantly, pushing Iroh towards the cells again, but this time, a lot less roughly.

* * *

"So, I have a few questions for you."

Iroh raised his head to regard Azula from his holding cell. He chuckled a bit before looking off into the distance. "If it's about my friends, I won't reveal anything."

"I figured as much. Your posture tells me you're part of a military, high ranking," Azula scrutinized. "Frankly, I don't know how someone of your caliber has managed to evade us for so long, especially if you're related."

Iroh sighed ruefully into his palm which he had his chin rested on. "My truthful explanation will make no sense to you."

"You might as well tell me before we reach my father's palace," Azula said with a hint of a warning. Despite himself, Iroh had to swallow nervously. His Great Grandfather...Fire Lord Ozai, eternalized in the history books. He was known as a great strategist and Lord. Even though he was a tyrant to other nations, he did keep the fire nation's economy strong.

Never in a 100 years did he ever think he would meet him. And he had to be in his prime. Early forties?

"I take it you know the implications of this then?" Azula voiced, interpreting his momentary silence.

"His reputation precedes him, but I don't fear him," Iroh stated truthfully.

"And you shouldn't," Azula suggested, to Iroh's surprise. "You're family after all. But you might want to give up some information before we reach shore."

"Why is that?" he asked just the slightest bit sarcastically.

"Because," Azula began, "You're starting to test my patience," she said evenly with narrowed eyes. Iroh didn't fidget under her glare, but he found it strange how Azula reminded him of his own sister. Minus the fact that Azula had a slight effect of making him the slightest bit nervous.

"And my patience doesn't matter?" Iroh retorted, for sake of having last word. Seriously, wasn't he at least 5 years her senior, technically speaking? He leaned his head back on the corner of the cell. Some of the metal was mixed with a hard non-conducting material making lightning pointless to use.

"Not really," Azula said, almost bored before walking away. Iroh had to roll his eyes at her retreating form. Way too much like his own sister.

* * *

"He's not Lu Ten," Azula summarized, looking out across the sea from her position at the railing.

"So you suddenly have an extra cousin or something. That's not weird at all," Mai commented, sarcasm heavy, leaning on the outer wall of the cabin, idly twirling a thin knife in her hand.

"Can I go meet him!? Pleeeease?" Ty Lee asked enthusiastically.

"Fine, Ty Lee. Just stop bothering me about it," Azula relented, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh, thank you, Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed, giving Azula a hug. The princess rolled her eyes. While Ty Lee went towards the holding cell, Mai continued to twirl her knife.

"Where do you think he came from?" Mai asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Azula sounded.

"Where do you think he came from? Sounds strange that you suddenly have an extra relative out of nowhere. And older than you _and_ Zuko," the taller girl observed.

"Maybe my mother remarried," Azula suggested aloud, but not completely sure. And the thought was repulsive for some reason.

"Maybe," Mai added, but didn't say anything more. Azula silently appreciated that Mai didn't ask anything else. She never gave it thought, but what if her mother _was _alive somewhere and that man in the cell was her _half_-brother? Azula sighed to herself and walked back inside into the quarters towards her room. Was her mom already trying to replace her in memory too?

"Well what should I care!" Azula said strongly to herself as though ready to put it into mantra. She ungracefully landed on her bed, and let her mind wander, lest she go crazy continuing to think about her treacherous mother.


	23. Chapter 23

_Moar boar want moar ideas. Gimme some suggestions. _

Iroh felt the holding cell jerk to a stop from unseen movement. Apparently, the ship had docked, and from the guards filing past his confinement, they were at their destination.

He stood and brushed of his clothing. He was glad that he had changed his uniform into the modest outfit. His original clothes, unique as they would be in this time period, would have been a dead give away of a high rank in some military. But then, it was probably a moot point. His great aunt figured it out just by looking at him.

"Prisoner! You are to be escorted to the Fire Lord's throne room! No sudden movements!" A guard ordered after having come to a stop in front of the cell.

Iroh sighed but nodded. He had been allowed to wash during the journey, but his hair was very unkempt and they did not offer him fresh clothes, so he had to do his best in cleaning what he had. The guard unlocked the door, and Iroh's thought of fighting his way out was tempered by the sudden appearance of five Imperial guards.

"Great," Iroh muttered under his breath. From the looks of it, he seemed to be a high value prisoner, to pull out all the stops with these guards.

Surrounded by the five imperial guards and led by the prison guard, he was escorted outside of the ship and into the port. What met his eyes was the sight of the royal palace directly ahead.

"Woah," he breathed, taking in the sight of the palace and the city. It was nearly just as he remembered it, before he left to join the United Forces military. There were some additions to the palace entrance that he'd never seen before and the houses looked less modern, but that only increased the awing sight of it.

"Move it," the imperial guard behind him ordered roughly, pushing him forward again. As they neared the entrance, he hadn't realized he had stopped walking.

_If I remember correctly, the Throne room is very close to here,_ Iroh observed as they all entered the grandiose building.

He was walked through several hallways before they reached a unnecessarily large double door.

Two imperial guards opened the door, and another stood behind him to release the cuffs.

"Speak only when spoken to, prisoner," the imperial guard stated. Iroh breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. He was meeting his great grandfather for the first time. He had mixed feelings about all of this. His grandfather always said that even though Ozai was a great leader, he was not a good father.

The doors opened, and the first thing he noticed was the wall of fire that separated him and the guards from a man seated on a raised dais.

"Leave us," the man said. His voice was authoritative and penetrating. The guards bowed from the waist respectfully in a fire nation tradition that Iroh recognized, and vacated the room.

Iroh saw them leave before turning back to face the man behind the fire.

There was a pregnant silence before the Fire Lord spoke.

"My daughter has told me much about you," the man that was his great-grandfather said to him.

"I've heard a lot about you," Iroh retorted evenly, for the sake of not being silent.

The flames suddenly dissipated, and the Fire Lord stood. Because of distance, Iroh still couldn't see his face.

"What is your name, young man."

The general thought over if he should truthfully tell him. If what Ozai was suggesting about what Azula said was correct, then he already knew he was a relative.

"Iroh," he answered after taking a breath. He continued to stand straight up, not wanting to give the impression that he feared his ancestor.

The fire lord began to descend the steps, and neared Iroh. He could now see the fire lord's face, and he saw a bit of himself in it. Ozai thought the same thing as he began to slowly circle him.

"Named after my treacherous brother. How quaint," Ozai stated as he came to a stop in front of the young man.

Ozai was slightly taller than he, and Iroh was forced to look up. The fire lord looked a lot like Zuko, perhaps how he would have looked as an older man without a scar.

"General Iroh's a great man...and a patriot," the young general said, in defense of his namesake. Ozai had turned his back to him and walked ahead a bit.

"Hm," Ozai sounded derisively. "I find it strange however, that you were named after my brother."

"That's all you're getting out of me."

"We shall see."

In a blink of an eye, his great-grandfather had pivoted around and threw both his hands forward, index and middle finger directed at him.

Iroh jumped to the side with a grunt and launched his own feet forward as he landed, releasing flames toward the fire lord. Ozai threw off his burning robe almost casually, and fell into a fighting stance.

"I shall know if you're a relative...if you can survive," Ozai taunted with a smirk. He leaped forward and punched forward, vaulting flames toward Iroh.

* * *

"Iroh's in danger. We need to help him!" Korra said irritably.

"We all want to, Korra, but we have to think this over!" Mako countered reasonably. "He's most likely being taken to wherever the fire lord is, if he isn't there already."

Korra leaned back in her chair and on the wall with a defeated sigh.

"We can't really do much with Aang out of comission," Sokka added, looking over a scroll with a ship's schematics drawn on it.

"Hello!? I'm the Avatar, too! Until he gets better, we can still do what we've been doing!"

"That's great and all, but the world pretty much knows Aang is the avatar. What do you think it'll be like when they see a water-tribe woman bending four elements? It'll cause too much confusion."

"Then I'll only bend one element! We need to get to where Iroh is and go get him!" Korra pressed on, now standing up.

"I'm with Korra. I'm itching to break stuff," Toph cosigned from her position on a cot. Right now, all of them were in a large wooden ship crafted by Hakoda's men. It was built without any water-tribe markers, so that they could pass through the ocean without attracting attention.

"I don't know, guys. Aang needs all the help he can get, here," Katara said quietly, almost like a whisper. Aang lay comatose on a bed next to where she sat. It had been two days, and Aang hadn't made the slightest movement to signify being alive, except for the shallow breaths his lungs were taking.

"Alright, I have a plan," Sokka voiced.

"Finally," Toph muttered.

Sokka chose to ignore the wise-crack and continued his line of thought. "The world thinks that Aang is dead. I say we capitalize on this advantage-"

"How is this an advantage!" Katara demanded helplessly.

"Katara, listen!" Sokka soothed. "This means that the fire nation won't be expecting resistance! Now that I think about it, having Korra here will be a big help." He turned to the rest of them.

"Having another Avatar is just the confusion we'll need. I doubt Azula would tell the fire lord that there's another one."

Zuko had been silent until now, leaning his back on a corner of the ship.

"So what's your point?"

"The fat that there is still another of us that is an Avatar will be a big help. And the best part is that she's unknown! Her and someone else needs to go and rescue Iroh."

"I'll go with her," Mako said, reaching for his pack.

"Actually, I was thinking Zuko," Sokka said, almost embarrassed.

"Huh? Why him? Were both firebenders!"

"I think he means i'm the Prince. Iroh's been taken to the fire nation palace. I know my way around over there."

"Oh," Mako uttered, feeling stupid. "I knew that."

"So we're all set with the plan then?" Sokka asked aloud. Everyone did a culmination of nods or some sort of general agreement.

"Okay then, that means once we get to the nearest village, you'll have to hitch a ride on the next fire nation boat."

"Got it. This is awesome, on a mission with the fire nation prince!" Korra exclaimed, punching Zuko in the arm, which he grabbed defensively. No way a girl can punch people that hard.

* * *

"Korra, can I talk to you for a second?" Mako asked. Korra and Mako walked into one of the rooms not occupied.

"Sure, what's up?" The wooden ship had reached port and the team were now at an Inn that the group, minus Korra and Zuko would stay in for the time being while Aang recuperated.

"Just uh..." Mako now realized how dumb he was sounding. They were seventy years in the past and he was getting uneasy about Korra being on a mission with Zuko. Without him.

"Just stay focused on the mission, okay?" Mako said lamely. Korra raised a brow.

"Oookaaay. Whatever."

"You guys really need to rescue him. We all are in the wrong time," Mako continued.

"Mako, relax!" Korra urged, shaking her head in amusement. "You're acting like I don't know how to fight!"

He sighed before saying, "That's not what I meant."

Korra crossed her arms and scrutinized him before a thought hit her. "Wait. You're worried about me on this mission aren't you?" Korra asked seriously.

"What? No!" Mako defended. "Ha! Worried about you? You'll be fine!"

"Mako, chill. We'll be back in at least a week."

"Right. A week." Mako muttered as Korra walked back to the commons room. Why was he being so stupid anyway? They were seventy years in the past. He was worrying over nothing, right?_  
_

_A/N: This chapter didn't have much action, but the next chapter'll be chock full of it. Till next update. _

_P.S.: Gimme some ideas! I'm running a bit low on creative juices! I'm considering adding another character to the mix, so I need some suggestions._

_P.S.S.: I suck at stories that have even a bit of romance or hints of it, so don't get too mad at my sucky writing skills :P_


	24. Chapter 24

_Moar boar want moar ideas. Gimme some suggestions. LOL, I like the Lin suggestion. _

"What do you mean he just dissappeared?" Chief Beifong inquired helplessly. Leave it to there being the Avatar involved or some mythical spirit to be the epicenter of all of this.

"Seriously!" Bolin asserted, making an explode-y gesture with his arms. "There was this really bright flash like a camera! Then Boomf!" he sounded. His voice echoed slightly from the acoustics of the tomb.

Lin Beifong pinched the bridge of her nose. It was already strenuous enough that Korra had simply gone missing, and none of the council knowing where she could have gone. Now one of her friends just vanished also?

"Because of a staff?" Lin asked irritably, to which Bolin nodded.

"Lin, there has to be some connection with the spirit world," Tenzin added calmly. "The statue's eyes had glowed. The spirit world has _something _to do with this-"

"I don't want to hear it, Tenzin," she interrupted. Not necessarily because she didn't believe it, but rather, she would prefer it that she could actually capture a person responsible for this mess. That's what the police were for. She couldn't be bothered with some spirit nonsense.

"You say this is what the boy touched before vanishing?" She asked no one in particular.

"His _name _is Mako," Bolin asserted defensively. The serious impression he was going for was ruined when Pablu leaped onto his head. Lin rolled her eyes and surveyed the area. The cave was dim, and light was still emanating from the antique staff and Lin's subordinate officers continued to thoroughly examine the interior of the tomb.

"The only way to get to Mako is if we touch the staff, that's how he dissapeared!" Bolin repeated for what was the third time.

"I _get _it kid," Lin sighed. "We need to think this through besides just touching the staff," Beifong stated the obvious.

"Don't know about you guys," Bolin indicated and took a dramatic deep breath. "But I've had enough waiting!" Bolin declared. His face took on (semi)-serious countenance before he ran towards the staff, Pablu jumping off his head at the last second.

"Oh, come on..." Chief Beifong complained as Bolin disappeared just as Mako had. Tenzin shook his head as though he half expected it to happen.

Lin and Tenzin looked at each other for a few tense seconds before they simultaneously shrugged.

"Officers, stay here, and stop any one from entering this area. I'm going in," Chief Beifon ordered while pointing at them.

"Lin, I'm coming with you."

"Tenzin, you can't. You're the only prominent council member left after Tarlokk up and disappeared."

Tenzin sighed with his eyes closed. Lin was right. Even though it was completely reasonable to follow, Republic City still needed guidance, and he wasn't sure what would happen if he tried to cross through. Come to think of it, it was unlike him to not give his family a head's up before doing something like this.

"You're right. But if something goes wrong..." Tenzin hinted.

"Fine," Lin relented. "Only if I don't come back in say, two days," she compromised before putting her finger on the staff and the flash occurred for the third time.

The officers looked at each other in confusion at what they just witnessed.

"Well," Tenzin said aloud, "Nothing else to do," Tenzin pointed out. The silence resumed for several seconds. "Anyone want Fruit Pie?"

The officers all nodded approvingly. Pablu chittered before running off after the Airbender.

* * *

"Augh..." Bolin complained as awareness assaulted his senses. "Man, that smarts," he continued, rubbing the back of a tender spot on his head. As an afterthought, he raised his head and observed his surroundings. Looking in everywhere direction, he saw one or two civillians who looked at him oddly as they passed by.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Bolin scratched his head in confusion. Everyone's clothes looked kind of old, frankly speaking.

"This is a weird place, Pablu," Bolin commented before realizing there was no answer.

"Pablu?" he called out into the open. Oh no, what if he was alone? What if this wasn't even where Mako was? "What if this is another planet!?" he concluded with wide eyes.

Then something fell on top of him after hearing the peculiar sound of rustling grass and crunching wood.

"Aw man!" Bolin complained. "Something real heavy fell on me, like a crate or-Hey, Chief...Beifong," Bolin muttered after turning around and righting himself, earning a glare from the now standing Police Chief.

"We need to find out where we are," Lin said, veering the subject, to Bolin's relief.

"Yeah! Mako couldn't have gone far, and maybe Korra's even here somewhere!" he said with a smile, brushing off the dust from his shirt and pants.

Lin seemed to not have paid much heed to his statement as she continued to survey the area. Besides the small amount of people passing by, no one paid them much attention. Except for three people that Lin noticed but Bolin was completely unaware of.

"Come on!" Lin encouraged, grabbing Bolin's elbow and out of sight of the Dai Li agents. From there they hid behind a wall out of view of the two men who had walked into the open area.

"Huh? What happened?" the young earthbender questioned, snapping his head in different directions, hoping to find the source of danger.

"Ssh!" Lin ordered with a silencing gesture from her finger. "Look over there," she added, pointing in the direction of the two men.

"The guys with the antique cone hats?"

"They're Dai Li agents. We need to avoid them and find Avatar Korra and your brother."

"That'll be easy! How hard could it be to find them?" Bolin declared with a snort.

Lin shook her head pitifully. Of all the places, why Ba Sing Se?


	25. Chapter 25

_Why didn't you guys tell me I was misspelling Pabu's name!?_

The sun was still shining, signifying it was at the least, early afternoon. It would be another hour or two before Korra and Zuko's war balloon reached the lake surrounding the Imperial city of the Fire Nation.

"You know, this will be my first time seeing the Palace," Korra began as a conversation starter. Zuko thrust his palm toward the opened furnace in the balloon, fire streaming from his hand.

"Really?"Zuko asked, half-interested. Korra nodded once in confirmation, watching Zuko continue to add heat to the furnace.

"Say," Korra added as an afterthought. "You've got to teach me some firebending techniques."

"I was under the impression that you were already pretty good at it," The prince commented with veiled sarcasm.

"Yeah," Korra agreed. "But the bending forms are way different in the future. It'd be cool to learn how you guys fight."

Zuko regarded her momentarily before shrugging. "Okay, sure. Why not." He palmed more flame into the furnace and watched the clouds rolling by. "We'll be close to the Caldera city soon, and we need to wait until tomorrow before we can sneak in, so I could teach you something once we find shelter at the Harbor City."

* * *

"Ladies, I'll need your help for today."

Mai was reading against a tree while Ty Lee was practicing calisthenics near the Turtle Duck pond. Azula had crossed the courtyard and was sitting on the railing next to the yard.

"Oh? For what?" Mai replied while not having moved from her reading position.

"I need you two to intercept Zuko for me. He's most likely going to be here tomorrow to rescue our dear relative."

Ty Lee finished her stretch to seat herself cross-legged. "Wait, you're not coming with us?" she questioned, slightly surprised at Azula's choice of words.

"Unfortunately," the princess confirmed. "Apparently, the Dai Li are having problems with some lowlife who's incapacitated some of the agents. I don't know how," Azula complained, "but it warrants an investigation."

"So where do we need to go?" Mai asked, having finally placed the scroll back within the folds of her robe.

"The Harbor city. He'd be foolish to risk finding shelter in the Caldera City."

"Sounds fun. Doesn't seem that hard of a job," Ty Lee observed, now stretching her arms.

"Oh, and Mai," Azula added, almost apologetically. "Watch out for his lady friend, she's quite dangerous."

"_Lady _friend?" Mai parroted with a raised eyebrow.

Azula shrugged innocently before walking back inside of the palace.

* * *

"Hey, what about that Tea Shop?" Bolin asked, pointing at a store that's sign said, 'Jasmine Dragon'.

"Well, we've already checked all the places we could, and the Palace is out of the question, let's go," Lin agreed. They entered the store, and Beifong instructed him to stay at the table while she asked the tea-maker. She rung the bell and waited patiently for the manager or assistant. Well as patiently as Lin could, with a hand on her hip, and her other hand on the counter.

When Uncle Iroh appeared at the shop counter, his eyes lit up almost instantly. Who was this beautiful woman?

"Good afternoon ma'am. What is a lovely woman such as yourself doing here?"

Lin raised a brow, almost flattered. Almost.

"I'm here on business. Have you seen a girl named Korra, or a boy named Mako?"

At this turn of conversation, Iroh was instantly serious. "Ah. I have," he said with a thoughtful expression. "May I ask what is your name?"

Lin sighed, deliberating whether she should reveal her name or not. The Beifongs were rich, but not extremely famous. Besides, the truth might get her closer to finding Bolin's brother and Korra.

"Beifong. Lin Beifong."

"Ah, the Beifongs," Iroh stated though remembering something. Toph's parents were slightly younger than the woman standing before him. Apparently, this woman must also be from the future.

"I know where you can find them. It will be a moderately long journey, however."

* * *

Korra and Zuko made it to the Harbor City without complications, where they tucked the war balloon behind some crates near an unused port.

"That should be well-hidden until we can get back to it," Zuko appraised, stretching his legs to loosen them up.

"Okay. So what's next? It's still going to be a long while 'till tomorrow," Korra replied while leaning against the wall and surveying the city. The area they landed in was the sparsely populated region, which was the less refined area of town.

"For now, we have to keep a low profile. We need to check into an Inn or something while we wait." Zuko looked across the cityscape, planning the best way to get to the Palace. He nodded once to himself and sat on a nearby crate next to Korra.

"Tomorrow, we need to get to the outskirts of the caldera city. It's a town full of nobles, so we need to stay on the border to attract much less attention," Zuko said. "From there, we can totally bypass the royal plaza by foot and reach the palace."

"Sounds like a plan," Korra appraised. She stood up and stretched her arms and hips. "Let's find this Inn so we can get to practicing."

* * *

Aang's eyes shot open. The weird thing though, was that he didn't feel any pain that he should have been feeling in his back or the bottom of his foot. Picking himself up from off the ground, he looked around, trying to discern where he was. He was currently standing in a pond, which was surrounded by trees from all sides. Passed the expanse of trees, there seemed to be a light shining through like sunlight, giving the whole place an ethereal quality.

Not to mention all the fog. Aang wondered if this was the Spirit World. Taking a ready step backwards, he pushed his arms outward, as though willing the water to move.

No reaction.

"Yup. Definitely the Spirit World," Aang commented, scratching his head. But what in the world was he doing here? He hadn't tried to meditate and wasn't contacted, as far as he knew, by a spirit of any kind.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Aang asked, throwing the question in the air. He was about to settle down and attempt to meditate when he heard noises stemming from one direction across the trees. Running towards the noise, he slowed down as he neared the clearing.

What met his sights was not at all what he was expecting. He saw a city, with lights everywhere. And in every direction, he could see moving _things _that looked like carriages, but wasn't being dragged by any kind of mount.

"That thing is moving itself. What kind of place is this?"

Suddenly, he felt reality shift and he could see everything occurring like a moving picture. He could see everything, but he couldn't interact with it.

I wouldn't leave yet, Avatar. You'll miss the main event.  
_The stage rose and showed a bound Tenzin and his children- Jinora, Ikki and Meelo_

"No... they got away. We saw them get away!" Aang sees Korra yell from a balcony in the theater.

"Tonight, I rid the world of air bending. Forever," Aang sees a masked man say with cold decisiveness. _This guy can take away someone's bending? _Aang asked in disturbed awe.

"Amon, let them go!" Korra shouts, her hands gripping the balcony railing and for all intents and purposes, ready to jump down there and intervene.

"You're welcome to come down here and try to stop me," Amon retorts. He takes a step towards the three airbenders.

"Airbenders!" Aang cries out in surprise. This _had _to be a vision of the future! That means there are more airbenders, and this man is trying to end the cycle! Aang wished he could intervene, but he couldn't. The event unfolding wasn't physically happening.

"He's trying to bait you," the one Aang recognized as Mako, holding Korra back from doing anything rash.

"I don't care! We have to save them!"

"The Avatar needs to be reminded of the power I possess," Amon spoke into the mic, his dark confidence chilling even Aang to the core. This man was worse than Ozai!

Aang suddenly took a deep intake of air, this time a soreness definitely coming from his back.

"Why would I have a dream about someone who doesn't exist yet? Unless..." Aang sat up in the bed he had been unconscious on, holding his head in his hands.

"That guy, Amon, he must be here..."

As an afterthought, Aang noticed the red banners and the steel walls that surrounded him.

"Oh no..."


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I apologize for the agonizing wait. I've been studying hard for College Final Exams. Well, kinda. Anyway, here is the latest chapter. I've decided to heed the unanimous advice and not add another character. I too believe that it would get too crowded and basically, a little pointless to add more people for now. Hope you enjoy!_

"We'll have to make this quick. The sooner we get back to Aang and the guys, the better," Zuko said evenly, leading Korra through the busy streets of the harbor city.

The water tribe woman sighed in frustration, almost stomping behind him. "It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

"No point in sulking over it. There's nothing we could have done," the prince said rushedly, crouching behind a pack of supply crates and waving Korra over.

Moments later, armed guards were seen passing through the street they had just stepped away from.

"Aren't those..?"

"Royal guards," Zuko finished darkly. "Azula's already here," he muttered in a disappointed tone. Without skipping a beat, he grasped Korra's shoulder to pull her away from the wall and farther out of sight from the guards.

"We'll have to move quickly! We'll get to the palace faster if we can steal a mount."

Korra nodded her agreement, surveying the road occupied only by two soldiers. Pointing her finger in that direction, she nodded her head toward a wooden structure.

"There's some stables over there. We can steal some kimodo rhinos."

Zuko exhaled irritably from his position next to her. "That won't work. Kimodo-rhinos are ridden eclusively by fire nation elite. It would attract too much attention," he opposed, thinking quickly for an alternative tack. Korra rolled her eyes almost immediately.

"Since the princess already knows we're here, there's not much of a point in stealth, is there?" Korra retorted with heavy sarcasm. Ignoring Zuko's offended glare, she continued her line of thought. "Besides, they'll get us near the palace quickly."

Zuko exhaled again, frutrated he couldn't think of a better idea. The longer they stood there indecisive, the more likely Azula would capture them.

"Fine. Let's make this quick!" he conceded. Taking the lead, Zuko dashed to the street with the stables, clothes-lining the hapless guard before he could respond. Korra followed close behind, hopping over the now unconscious officer.

Zuko hadn't seen Korra wrinkle her nose disgustedly.

"Augh, smells like a probending locker room in here!" she complained while Zuko was busy kicking down a wooden fence that held a Komodo-Rhino.

"The heck is probending?"

"Nevermind," she passed off. She began to open a gate with another Rhino before pausing. "Hey, where's the other guard?"

As if an answer to her question, the missing guard appeared with a contingent of troops behind him, beginning to close in on the stable.

"They match the description! Get them!"

Thinking quickly, Zuko jumped onto his Rhino and snatched up Korra before she could protest.

"Hold onto me! There's not enough time to hop on another one!"

"Uh, right!" Korra nearly stuttered, hesitantly holding onto Zuko as he snapped the reigns. Seeing a monstrous lizard bawling towards them, the soldiers were forced to leap to the sides as the duo of teens quickly zipped through the streets towards the Caldera city walls.

* * *

The inscrutable teen lowered the handheld telescope and dropped it into a lieutenant's hands.

"Who's the girl," the dark haired girl asked, emotionless.

"According to a proclamation by the princess, she is a brigand that can..." the lieutenant hesitated, bowing his head further.

"Well, spit it out," she urged almost lazily.

"She...can bend two elements at a time," he forced himself to say.

Mai dd not often betray her emotions with physical gestures, but she couldn't help frown deeply at the lieutenant's explanation. More than one element? Normally, she wouldn't care about something like this, but this girl who can bend more than one element was riding Rhino-back with _her _boyfriend. Obviously, she'd have to do_ something_.

"This is so frustrating," Mai muttered calmly, her tone not matching her words.

"Do what you have to, to cut them off before they breach the wall."

"Yes, madam," the officer obliged, leaving with a fire nation salute.

"Second Lieutenant!" the officer ordered.

"Present!"

"Inform the Captain that I am sending a contingent of 100 crack troops to apprehend the fugitives!"

The second Lieutenant saluted and made his way to the nearby barrack to relay the orders.

* * *

Leaping neatly to the side, Iroh II gracefully avoided another stream of flame that was aimed at his face. He had his fair number of duels, but Fire Lord Ozai was in a whole other League. If not just from Ozai's impressive skill, Iroh feared he'd be bested soon by the older man by one small slip-up.

"You fight well...Iroh. But it's about time this duel came to an end." Ozai suddenly executed a stream of combos, flaming projectiles closing in on Iroh from all directions. Forced to block, the last two missiles crashed into him, forcing him onto his back.

Then Ozai ceased his attack. He raised his arms to his sides. Two attendants quickly walked to him, one holding a spare royal robe. They both fitted his arms into the robe and retreated as quickly as they appeared.

"Tell me, are you an illegitimate child?"

Iroh had yet to get up, but was now seated on the ground. The question didn't make sense until he put it into context.

"No. I'm not a child of Princess Ursa," he replied calmly.

"Hm," Ozai grunted with half-attention, tying the sash around his robe. Ozai then crossed his arms behind his back, and exhaled tiredly.

"What am I to do with you. My son and his female friend are no doubt on their way here to rescue you."

Iroh's gaze sharpened. The thought hadn't really occurred to him. But that kind of response, rushing to rescue him? That went against fundamental military principles. They wouldn't endanger themselves so wantonly...would they?

Ozai breathed deeply, lazily surveying the large throne room they were currently in.

"Heed my orders," Ozai suddenly boomed. Five armed guards entered from side entrances and kneeled in the direction of the Fire Lord.

"Place him in prison for now," Ozai stated, turning as he walked back towards his throne. "Assure that his basic needs are taken care of."

"Yes, my lord," the guards said in unison.


	27. Chapter 27

Aang struggles to get out of the bed, admirably attempting to ignore the hot-cold sensation in his back. Slowly managing to carefully open the metal door, He left the room, carefully creaking open the door and peering outside for any sign of Fire Nation soldiers. Using his glider as a crutch, Aang stumbled across the hall, occasionally leaning on the wall for support due to being weak. He stopped at a turn in the hallway upon hearing two guards, who sounded strangely, very young.

"You hear something?" One of the two guards suddenly uttered. Aang's back straightening on instinct (and causing him slight pain), Aang steeled his expression and stepped into the hallway, while simultaneously swinging his staff and creating a non-lethal wave of air.

"He's awake!" the deeper voiced guard declared. Putting on more speed, Aang managed to reach the deck of the ship. Unfortunately, there were more fire nation soldiers.

"Huh?" Aang sounded in confusion. One of the two guards was petting Momo, who didn't seem scared in the slightest.

"Momo?" The Air nomad asked aloud. The flying lemur's ears twitched in recognition and he flew onto Aang's shoulder, licking his face affectionately. The two Fire Nation soldiers that were in front of him, stood from their seated positions.

"Twinkle-Toes? That's got to be you!" a familiar voice appraised from near the deck railings. Toph and Katara raced toward him, Katara pulling him into a careful hug, mindful of his injury.

"Aang, you're awake!" she commented with great relief.

"Are you sure?" Aang couldn't help but retort. "I feel like i'm dreaming," he added, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to decipher what was real and what wasn't. He couldn't make heads or tails of why all of his friends were wearing fire nation attire and armor.

Katara smiled assuredly. "You're not dreaming. You're finally awake!" Aang wasn't totally convinced, and it didn't help when a random soldier sidled up to him and gave his a shoulder hug.

"Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy!" he said in a somewhat goofy manner.

Aang blinked furiously, studying the soldier's face. "Sokka?" Aang asked, unbelieving. His breaths started to get more frequent and erratic, and his surroundings began to close in on him.

"Uh-oh, somebody catch him! He's going to-" Sokka's statement was unfinished as Aang blacked out.

* * *

"Princess, there's a messenger here," A guard stated with a salute.

Azula turned to face the guard and scrutinized him momentarily. "Let him in," she said. The guard saluted before retreating out of the encampment tent. Moments later, a Fire Nation envoy entered the tent, performing the Fire Nation salute.

"Princess, I have dire news," the envoy said ominously. Azula was still seated at her table, sipping tea.

"Well, let's hear it," she implored impatiently.

"uh," the envoy stuttered. "The Dai Li agents report that there is a strange man in Ba Sing Se who can...who can..."

"Are you going to keep stuttering until I've finished this tea?" Azula asked with a veiled threat. The envoy took a deep breath and continued.

"He can steal a person's bending," the messenger managed to say.

"Nonsense. Have you forgotten we have a chi-blocker in our ranks?"

"The agent has been unable to bend for two months so far with no signs of recovering."

Azula was forced to spit out the tea in her mouth. Thank heavens she'd barely began to drink it when that bit of information was relayed.

"Two months?" she asked aloud, standing up.

"Yes, princess. The agents report that he has lost some strength since that time and has been unable to be active in the field."

Azula didn't show it, but this kind of news was terrifying. Azula swallowed a lump in her throat, digesting the implications of what the messenger just said. Exhaling calmly, Azula made a shooing gesture towards the envoy, who bowed respectfully before seeing himself out. After several moments of pacing, Azula came to a stop and examined her hand. If she were to ever lose her bending...she'd probably go insane.

"Guards!"

Three imperial guards entered the tent and kneeled on one knee in a bow.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Order the soldiers to dismantle the camp and reboard onto the ship. We're paying Ba Sing Se a visit."

* * *

It had been at least half an hour since Zuko and Korra had commandeered the Komodo-Rhino and fled towards the Caldera city. Even though they were taking the quickest route, it would still take some time before they reached the massive royal city. The Komodo-Rhinos were able to conserve energy well, so it would be a while before they'd have to stop to rest, but Korra was struggling to not fall asleep on Zuko's back. The prince noticed this and steered the mount onto a wooded area.

"You're tired. It'll take at least another few hours before we reach the city walls, we can rest here for now."

"The way you were talking about it earlier," Korra muttered drowsily, "Sounded like it'd only take a minute to get there," she muttered with a yawn, as Zuko helped her off the Rhino.

"Yeah, we're almost there. Don't worry about it," Zuko assured as he tied the Rhino's reigns to a stable hold.

"Why aren't you tired?" Korra asked, holding back another yawn.

"I'm used to staying up late," Zuko replied elusively. Korra didn't push the subject and leaned back on a tree trunk. "Well, it's been hours, and I haven't had a good rest. Wake me if there's any problems."

"Sure," Zuko responded neutrally, leaning against another tree trunk opposite Korra.

* * *

"Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?" Aang interrogated non-stop. His friends looked on, concerned, and Katara eased him back into his resting position.

"You need to rest. You got hurt pretty bad," she stated. Then she smiled. "I like your hair."

"Woah! I have hair!?" Aang nearly shouted, rubbing his now hair covered head. "How long was I out?" Aang asked in confusion.


	28. Chapter 28

It was not really his style, but it was pertinent that he gather more information. Putting his espionage-like skills to the test, he deftly shadowed three Dai Li agents, stalking after them as they made their way to what the masked man hoped, was their headquarters.

Taking over the organization would be a good first step into gaining a foothold in this world and working towards returning home. Resources were everything. After careful research, Amon found that these Dai Li agents controlled nearly every facet of internal affairs in the city. With use of the Dai Li, he would have nearly infinite funds, resources, anything, before moving on to his next step. Finding the Avatar. As much as he loathed needing the use of such a villain, he was well aware of the powers of the "Bridge Between the Spirit World and Physical World".

The three unsuspecting agents were now walking out of the city's borders towards the shore of Lake Laogai. Remaining aware of the need for camouflage Amon dashed to the side to rest behind a boulder, large enough to hide his presence.

Silently, two of the agents performed a concerted movement. A manhole-shaped opening materialized as if by command, and the three descended the entrance.

Amon, knowing he had seconds before the entrance disappeared, made a beeline straight for the opening, and stopped just after making it through. The instant lack of light after the entrance closed forced him to squint his eyes from underneath his mask. Still not moving, he mentally counted to seven before sliding down the steel ladder.

* * *

"I had received a scroll from one of Zuko's friends, Sokka, that they had commandeered a fire nation vessel and are going to 'be the tree that hides within the forest'."

Bolin scratched his head with a single finger, concentrating on the gray haired Iroh's statement.

"...What?"

"It means that Korra and her new friends are going to be hiding from within the fire nation," Lin Beifong explained as if bored. Bolin sighed in response, craning his head back.

"And we couldn't say that, to begin with, why?" Bolin asked aloud, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. The teamaker simply laughed heartily.

"I can see that you are a straightforward kind of person," Iroh appraised.

"So can you tell us how we can reach them, Mr. Iroh?" Bolin replied, to which Iroh simply laughed, but this time it was more subdued.

"Please, just call me Iroh," he said with a smile. Once again becoming serious, the retired general turned to open a drawer, and pulled out a map. Turning to face the two earthbenders again, he placed the map, spread out, onto the table.

"The first stop that they've told me they would head is through the wilderness that surrounds the fire nation colonies. Here." Iroh pointed to a specific area on the map. "From there, unfortunately, i'm not sure where their next stop would be."

Lin Beifong stood up and bowed respectfully to Iroh. "Thank you for your assistance, General."

"Anything for a charming young lady," Iroh replied coolly.

"Hm," Lin muttered, clearly not impressed. Quickly, she rolled up the map and walked out of the tea shop, Bolin following after waving to Iroh.

* * *

"Korra, wake up."

"Huh?" she voiced groggily. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Korra stretched her arms and legs. Belatedly, Korra realized the sun was just beginning to rise. It was still dawn.

"Hey, what happened to the guys chasing us?"

"Dunno," Zuko replied calmly. "Azula's men had turned around without a word. Something must have come up." Zuko's voice was heavy. No doubt he disliked being kept out of the information loop.

"What could be more important than two teens storming a fire nation palace?"

Zuko stopped his packing to glare pitilessly. "Did you seriously just ask that?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Sounded better in my head," Korra countered defensively. Zuko finished up packing all of the laid out supplies and reattached them to the already awake Kimodo-Rhino.

"Bright side is it's better for us. We better get going," Korra said, throwing her spare water skins into the satchels on the sides of the saddle. Zuko nodded in agreement as he unhooked the leash from the impromptu stable.

* * *

"Well, see, it's a funny story," Sokka answered. "You might wanna sit down," he offered, removing his fire nation helmet. Aang nodded, sitting down on upraised metal surface.

"After Azula went and shot that lightning at you, Katara got Appa and got all of us out of there. Her spirit magic water thing woke you up before you passed out again.

Aang touched his back, almost as though reaching for the scar. He could feel it there, like a dull ache. "I think I was actually...gone," Aang muttered. "But you brought me back," looking at Sokka's sister. "Thank you Katara."

Katara only smiled softly, but didn't say anything else.

"Anyway, we decided to conduct a grand theft ship, and here we are! Oh, and Zuko and Korra went to rescue the Iroh from the future."

"Wait, what!"

"Hey it's a good idea! You were kinda, you know, unconscious, and she's the Avatar, too! Just the confusion we need!" Sokka reasoned while holding up his hands defensively.

"I know, but this is dangerous. More dangerous than normal," Aang persisted, finally standing up. He settled for pacing rather than sitting down.

"I don't know what'll happen if I get hurt or if she gets hurt. Two Avatars living at the same time is already an imbalance. And i'm supposed to be all about balance! Two people that represent balance, living at the same time, causes an imbalance! This is not good!"

"Aang, calm down! I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is," Sokka assured with a hand on his shoulder.

"I hope so. I'm surprised nothing crazy has happened in the Spirit World yet," Aang said while rubbing his head. Then his eyes widened as he remembered something.

"Oh, no! That one guy!"

The gaang, Pipsqueak and Duke looked at each other dumbly.

"Uh, what guy?" Sokka asked the obvious question.

Aang sighed before plopping back on the seat he was using. "You guys aren't going to believe this."


End file.
